New Beginnings
by PSUbrat
Summary: Book Two of the Reset Series. ***COMPLETE*** After their confrontation with Warren, Buffy and the Scoobies try to pick up the pieces of their lives...Please R
1. Starting Anew

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** The Scoobies try to pick up the pieces of their lives after their confrontation with Warren  
**Timeframe:** A few weeks after the end of Reset. _

- 1 -  
Starting Anew

Buffy woke to the high pitch ringing of her alarm clock. She looked at the time. It was seven thirty in the morning. "Too early for super heroes," she said aloud to her room. She turned off her alarm and put the pillow over her head hoping to catch a few more minutes of sleep. Unfortunately, sleep wasn't coming. She had too many thoughts going through her head. After watching Warren die, she had been plagued by nightmares - of the non-slayer type - and a lot of "what ifs." What if she had made it to Xander in time? What if she hadn't been careless and gone after Warren before Willow and Giles had finished draining his powers? What if she hadn't hesitated before trying to save Warren?

"What if? What if? What if?" Buffy asked sighing, "Does it really matter anymore?" She pulled the pillow tighter around her head and tried to ignore the nagging sensation at the back of her mind. Things were finally supposed to be better, right?

"Buffy?" a small voice asked from the doorway.

Lifting the pillow from her head, Buffy stared at Dawn blankly. "Yeah," she asked.

"It's time to get up," Dawn stated as she folded her arms across her chest, "Visiting hours begin at eight and I want to be there if Xander wakes up."

Buffy sat up and ran her fingers through her blonde hair. "Can Tara take you?" she asked. 

"Tara stayed at the hospital again last night. Willow's supposed to come home tomorrow though. Not that we really have a home at the moment," the young girl lamented.

They had been living in Xander's apartment since their escape from Warren. He had pretty much trashed the Summers' home. Buffy and the others couldn't move back into the house until it was basically rebuilt, and on the pitiful excuse for a salary she got from Doublemeat Palace, that was going to take a long time. "Okay. Give me a few minutes. Why don't you get something to eat while I get ready?"

She watched Dawn leave the room and heard her go into the kitchen. She laid her head back down on her pillow and grabbed Mr. Gordo. Looking at the stuffed pig she asked, "So, do you know where he is?"

Mr. Gordo silently looked back at his owner. Buffy sighed and pulled herself out of bed. She tossed the stuffed animal on the sheets and went to the closet looking for something to wear. She chose a simple sundress and pulled her hair back into a small ponytail. Dawn was right; they should be at the hospital in case Xander woke up; but they had been doing this ritual for three weeks now, and nothing new had happened. The doctors said that despite the internal injuries and loss of blood, Xander should have a full recovery once he came out of the coma. It would just take time. A lot of time.

Anya had never once left Xander's side. She pretty much ate and slept at the hospital, if she ate and slept at all. Buffy wasn't sure. She was moved by the demon's devotion; it made her wish that someone loved her that much. She looked in the mirror and thought about Spike. Had he loved her that much? It didn't really matter now, did it? He was gone. She missed him, despite the bathroom incident. There was no one there to drive her crazy like he did.

"Stop it," she chided herself still looking in the mirror, "He's evil. He hurt you and you don't belong together."

As she was finishing her makeup, the phone rang. "I'll get it," she shouted so that Dawn could hear her. It was Giles. They made small talk for a few minutes as she caught him up on Xander and Willow's conditions. She could sense that he wanted to tell her something so she paused long enough to give him the chance.

"Buffy, I'll be coming back to Sunnydale early next month. There are a few things that we need to discuss."

She didn't know why but her heart sank as she heard these words. "Is everything okay Giles?" She asked hesitantly.

"Quite. I just wanted to discuss Dawn and her growing powers. Do you remember the prophecies that I told you about, the ones that the Council found? Well it turns out that these new prophecies could pertain to Dawn. We've been working day and night to translate them. I wanted to share the translations with you in person."

"What kind of prophecies, Giles? Is it bad?"

"No, no. Nothing bad. I also have a few other things I wish to speak to you about as well."

A feeling of dread lay in the pit of her stomach. Giles would only come to Sunnydale to talk to her if something was seriously wrong. "Are you sure nothing is wrong, Giles?"

"Buffy, everything is fine. I will see you in a few weeks. Please do wish Willow and Xander my best."

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Giles was lying to her. Something was wrong. Buffy was convinced her day was going to get much worse before it got better.

* * *

Willow was slowly moving around her hospital room trying to get the feel for walking again. Anytime she wanted to go somewhere, they had made her use a wheel chair. She hated those things. She felt so helpless in them. The pain in her back from the stabbing had subsided some but it still hurt to walk. Like right now; but she needed to feel human again. Rounding the corner of the bed, she moved too quickly and winced in pain.

"Sweetie, you have to take it easy," Tara said admonishingly as she ran over to help Willow. "Stop trying to over do it."

"I can't help it," Willow gasped, "I just can't sit in that bed a minute longer."

Tara gave Willow an understanding look. She knew she certainly couldn't handle being confined to a bed inside of a small room for weeks either. "Will, please at least sit down in the chair. If you pull your stitches they aren't going to send you home tomorrow."

Willow sighed and lowered herself into the visitor's chair in her room. She certainly didn't want to jeopardize her release from this place. The thought of going home brought a smile to her face.

Tara took a seat on the bed across from her. She didn't want to have the conversation she was about to start with Willow but she knew it had to be done. Willow's injury had been severe and Tara hadn't been sure if her lover was going to pull through, so her suspicions about the black majicks had waited. Now, Willow was strong enough to go home so she was strong enough to answer Tara's questions.

"W-Willow," Tara stuttered. God, she didn't want to have this conversation. "I was wondering"

Willow looked over at Tara with a questioning expression on her face. Tara melted. "I love her so much," Tara thought to herself and smiled.

As Tara was about to continue with the conversation, Willow smiled brightly and said excitedly, "Dawnie!"

"Heya Willow," Dawn said enthusiastically bouncing into the room and heading for a seat on the bed next to Tara, "So the doctors are going to spring you from here tomorrow, huh?"

"Yep. I get to go home and be with everyone," Willow said happily giving Tara a quick glance and squeezing her hand. She couldn't wait to go home. It would be almost like starting overagain. These last three weeks she had concentrated on getting better and hadn't even thought about her wish. The guilt that she had been dealing with prior to being kidnapped by Amy and Warren returned. She tried to push it out of her mind and concentrate on the moment at hand.

Tara smiled at Dawn and asked, "Is Buffy here with you?"

Dawn looked down at her feet and whispered, "Yeah, she's down checking on Xander. I wanted to stop up here first."

Willow and Tara looked at each other. They had been so happy about Willow being able to go home that they had almost forgotten that Xander was still in a coma.

"Dawnie, why don't you stay here with Willow," Tara said with a smile, "I'm gonna go downstairs and check in on Xander." She gave Willow's hand a squeeze, got up off the bed and walked out of the room.

"Hey Dawnie," Willow asked hoping to take Dawn's mind off of Xander, "wanna see my scar?"

Dawn's face brightened and she giggled nervously. "Seriously?" She asked.

"Serious," Willow said nodding her head. Standing up slowly, she motioned for Dawn to come over. She turned her back to the girl and lifted up her pajama top.

"Whoa," Dawn gasped, "Does it hurt?"

"Not so much. It's better than it was and the doctors say that it shouldn't scar too badly when it's totally done healing."

Dawn stopped herself as she reached out to touch the jagged wound that was held together by stitches. Hesitantly she asked, "Can I touch it?"

"Sure Dawnie," Willow said, hoping it would ease Dawn's fears.

Dawn slowly traced the wound with her finger; the stitches felt funny, kind of like fishing line. She ran her finger over the wound a second time. Suddenly it disappeared. Stunned, she stammered, "UhhmWillow? What just happened?"

Willow had felt a tingling sensation and warmth cover her scab. She tried to turn to see what had happened. She expected the movement to bring on a great deal of pain but instead she was able to twist around to see in the mirror. Her stab wound was gone! She looked over at Dawn in shock.

* * *

Buffy had been sitting in the small hospital room for about twenty minutes now. She glanced over at the machines that were hooked up to Xander. There were tubes and wires everywhere. They monitored his heart and breathing. Everything seemed to be okay. Except for the fact that he wouldn't wake up. She hated coming here. There was nothing that she could do to help her friend and she was starting to give up hope that he would ever return from the coma. Buffy looked over at Anya who was sleeping uncomfortably in the chair next to Xander's bed. The dark circles under the demon's eyes told Buffy how much sleep, or little in this case, Anya was getting.

Tara walked into the room and over to where Buffy was sitting. "Any change?" She asked hopefully.

"No. Everything is the same as the day before," Buffy said sadly, "The doctors say his wounds are getting better, and that the coma is just the body's way of shutting him down so he can heal, but I dunno; I don't think they're telling us everything."

Tara put her arm around Buffy and gently hugged her in a reassuring manner. "Things will be okay, Buffy. He'll be okay. Willow is."

Buffy looked at Tara's smile and returned one of her own. Tara seemed to be the optimist through all of this. There were too many things on Buffy's mind for her to even concentrate on the good for more than a minute at a time. Yeah, things had gotten better with Dawn and she was grateful that they were communicating again, but she felt like she was still missing a piece of herself.

Anya stirred in her chair. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Tara and Buffy watching over Xander. She got out of the chair and stretched her arms and legs. What she wouldn't give to sleep in a soft, comfortable bed for ten minutes. She couldn't understand why there wasn't a bed in here for her; after all, they had given Xander a private room. If they were going to do that they could at least bring a cot in here for her to sleep on. She walked over to Xander, put his hand in hers and stroked his face. 

"Good morning Xander. It's me, Anya. I'm here. Still. Buffy and Tara are here too." She smiled at the other two girls who were standing on the other side of the bed now. The doctors had told her that Xander could hear her even though he was in a coma. They told her that it would be good for him if she would talk to him, reassure him that he was going to be okay. She wasn't sure that she believed in this stuff but she was going to try it anyway. She would do just about anything to bring Xander back to her.

Tara shifted uncomfortably on her feet and Buffy looked around the room while Anya stroked Xander's face and hair. They felt like they were intruding as Anya whispered words of encouragement in their friend's ear and kissed his lips softly.

Sensing that Buffy was just as uncomfortable as she was, Tara suggested, "Buffy, maybe we should go get some coffee and some breakfast for Anya."

"That sounds like a great idea," Buffy said, jumping at the chance to leave the room. "Anya," Buffy continued, "Is there anything you really want? A jelly doughnut or something?"

Anya continued talking to Xander and didn't hear any of the conversation. She was lost in her own thoughts. She didn't even notice Buffy and Tara walk out of the room. She was too busy trying to will Xander to open his eyes. Why did he have to be so stubborn? Why couldn't he just wake up? Didn't he know how hard this was on her? Didn't he know that being away from the money this long made her go crazy as well? She didn't know what she would have done if Halfrek hadn't agreed to watch the Magic Box while she tended to Xander. Hali hadn't exactly been happy about it but she knew that Anya needed to be near her human. 

The tears started coming again, as they did everyday. A tear dropped onto Xander's face and she kissed it off his cheek. As she continued to stroke his face, Dawn and a flushed Willow burst into the room.

* * *

Buffy and Tara had taken their time at the cafeteria. Neither girl wanted to return to the hospital room but both knew they owed it to their friends to be there. Even if nothing happened. They slowly made their way to the cashier and paid for their items. As they meandered the hallway toward the elevators, Buffy noticed that Tara was quieter than usual. 

"Is everything okay Tara?" Buffy asked her friend.

Tara smiled sadly at Buffy. She wasn't sure what to say. How do you tell someone that you think they're not living in the right world? That none of them were? Do you just come out and say it? Taking a deep breath she was about to tell Buffy her suspicions when the elevator door opened to reveal a crowded car. This certainly wasn't the time to open up about her thoughts, especially in front of those that wouldn't understand.

Buffy and Tara stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for floor three. The ride was silent. When the car stopped at their floor, Buffy dreaded taking the next few steps to the room and hated herself for feeling that way. As they rounded the corner, she heard a commotion coming from Xander's room. Her and Tara exchanged a quick, worried glance and picked up the pace.

When they got inside of the room neither of them could believe what they were seeing. Not only was Xander awake and talking but he was trying to sit up in bed as well! He still looked a little pale but other than that you'd never know that he was a man that was sitting on death's doorstep just days before. 

"Xander," Buffy asked incredulously.

"Hey Buff. Long time no see," he said with a wide smile.

How and when were the only other two words Buffy was able to get out of her mouth. She was so stunned. Dawn giggled while Willow laughed and Anya cried. The first thought to cross Tara's mind was that Willow had used magic to perform this miracle.

"Look," Willow exclaimed as she pulled up her shirt to reveal her back, "no more ouchie!"

"Willow," Tara asked with concern in her voice, "did you use magic to do this?"

Willow shook her head and pointed at Dawn. "Dawnie did it. We're not sure how, but she did."

Buffy walked over to her sister and looked at her. "Since when did you become a healer?"

Dawn shrugged her shoulders and laughed, "I'm not sure, but isn't it cool?"

Anya stopped crying long enough to hug the teenage girl. She was so happy that Xander was awake. After the others left, she would make sure that he knew exactly how much pain this had caused her; but for right now, she was elated that he was with her again. 

"Isn't this wonderful," Anya declared beaming, "It's like a whole new beginning!"  



	2. Revelations

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Giles returns to Sunnydale but will Buffy be able to handle his news; An old "friend" discovers that life will never be the same  
**Timeframe:** A few weeks after "Starting Anew". _

- 2 -  
Revelations

Sitting at the island in the kitchen, Buffy sighed as she read the morning's paper. She couldn't concentrate with all the noise the workmen were making. Couldn't they put silencers on that stuff? On the other hand, she was grateful that the work on the house had started, at last. The entire front of the house was gone and the estimate to get it fixed was staggering. For some reason, house insurance didn't cover acts of demented men trying to rule the world. In order to keep the cost down, Xander had pulled a few strings and cashed in on some favors. He was able to get the supplies at cost. Some of his crew, including himself, were working for almost nothing. In return, Buffy was supplying them with food and beer. She smiled to herself and thought, "It's amazing what men will do for a hot meal and some alcoholand the helpless doe eyes of a pretty girl." That last part made her laugh.

Despite the noise and not being able to live here yet, Buffy was happy to be home. They were all still living at Xander's place and since he had been released from the hospital last week, it was getting really crowded. Spending twenty-four and seven with her friends was nice but it was starting to wear thin. Not only did she see them at night but she saw them during the day at the Magic Box as well. At least Willow had recently moved into Tara's dorm room on a temporary basis. That had made things a little more bearable in the Harris abode. Good thing Tara hadn't given up the room when her and Willow had gotten back together. The phone rang and Buffy got up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Buffy," Giles said, "will you be coming to the Magic Box soon? We have a lot to go over today."

Buffy had called Giles immediately after Dawn's latest power development. He had stammered and stuttered a lot but promised to arrive in Sunnydale before the end of the week. He was concerned about putting his research on hold, of course, but there were others that could continue it for him. Not that he really trusted Council members, but that seemed to be his only choice at that moment.

True to his word, Giles showed up at the Magic Box by the end of the week. Without even greeting the others, he went straight to Dawn, pulled her into the training room and asked her pointed questions that she didn't have answers to. Dawn's eyes had pleaded with Buffy to intervene. Buffy wasn't sure what Giles was trying to get at since nothing appeared to be out of place or different about Dawn. Not they could seeand they had checked.

Now that Giles was here, things had taken on a sense of normalcy. It was almost like old times. He would do the research, Anya would run the shop, and Buffy and the gang would do the slaying. The only difference now was that she would let Dawn help out. Her sister had become very good with slaying. Dawn wasn't as strong as Buffy but she could hold her own. Giles had even suggested that Dawn begin training with Buffy, just to give the younger Summers a sense of structure.

Suddenly, it occurred to Buffy that Giles had been back in California for almost two weeks and hadn't mentioned the prophecies or talked to her about anything other than Dawn, slaying and how good it was to be back. She hadn't even thought about asking why he was really there. Actually, she was too afraid to ask. She was afraid to hear the answers.

"Buffy," the voice on the other end of the phone asked bringing her back to the present.

"Sorry Giles, I spaced there for a minute. Must be the noise of all these power tools, can't seem to concentrate." She could almost hear him roll his eyes at her. "I'll be there in half an hour."

She hung up the phone and made her way to the front of the house to let Xander know she was leaving. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

The curly, brown haired man sat at a desk looking out the window. England was much different from what he remembered. Things had changed quite a bit but all of the old buildings were still there. At least the important ones were anyway. He looked down at his notebook and sighed. They told him that writing things down would help him to get through this tough time but he wasn't convinced of that quite yet. There were too many things going through his mind for him to focus on just one thing.

He was tired. It had been a long day. The Watcher classes he was taking were exhausting, not to mention the grueling training schedule that they had him on. However, tonight was his night off from research. He had promised Rupert that he would continue with the translations of the prophecies while the elder Watcher was in the States. He couldn't ever remember working this hard in his life. If he had known that becoming a Watcher was going to be this difficult, he might have thought twice about it. With that thought playing through his mind, he took a picture out of the desk drawer. He looked at it every night before he went to sleep and at times like this when his writing couldn't console him. He could feel the tears begin to sting the back of his eyes. This is what frustrated him the most, the whole gamut of emotions that he went through every time he looked into those eyes.

There was a soft knocking at the door. He hadn't been expecting any visitors. 

"Come in," he said without much enthusiasm.

Two men in their mid to late twenties entered his room. 

"Hey mate," the first greeted, it was Garrick a fellow Watcher in training, "We're heading down to the pub in a few minutes. Want to come along for a pint?"

"Manchester United is on the telly tonight," Geoffrey added with a grin, "they're going to make quick work of Liverpool for sure."

Sensing his friend's hesitation, Garrick tried a different approach to get the man to leave the confines of his room. "Come on you stupid bint. You can't bloody stay in here and write all night. Don't be such a bore."

The curly, brown haired man looked at Garrick and smiled. "Think there'll be some scrums at the pub what with it being Liverpool and all?"

Garrick and Geoffrey laughed at their friend. He was always up for a fight. Didn't matter where or when. Each grabbed an arm and hurried him out the door.

* * *

The trees on the campus of UC Sunnydale swayed gently in the breeze. Willow sat under one of those trees waiting for Tara to finish her class so that the two of them could walk back to the dorm together. The campus was pretty quiet this time of year. Summer classes had just begun which meant the population of UCS was at about a third of its normal capacity. She didn't care. It was a gorgeous day and it made her feel like nothing in the world could ever ruin it, not even her continued guilt. Most of the time she was able to forget about her wish and just enjoy her second chance; but then there were the times, mostly after she and Tara made love, when she would look into her lover's eyes and feel such remorse that she just wanted to break down and tell Tara everything. 

After the confrontation with Warren, she had expected everyone to question how she knew certain things, specifically how to drain Warren of his powers, but no one had asked, probably because she and Xander had been seriously injured and everyone had concentrated on that. She had been out of the hospital for almost three weeks now and still no one asked her anything about that day. There were times when she thought Tara was on the verge of discussing it, but they were always interrupted by someone or something. She was kind of hoping that they had forgotten about it by now.

"Is this a private party?" Tara asked with a smile, "Or can anyone join in?"

Willow looked up from her thoughts to see Tara standing over her. "Private party. Invitation only," she said nodding her head and grinning.

"Oh," Tara pouted.

"But I'm only extending the invitation to you cause you're the only one I'd want at this party."

Tara smiled brightly, sat down next to Willow and took her lover's hand in her's. She had noticed that Willow had been deep in thought again. Whenever Willow had that look on her face, Tara knew she must be thinking about It, and Tara was pretty sure she knew what It was. "Well," she thought to herself, "today is as good as any to find out."

"Will," Tara said hesitantly, "can we talk?"

Willow grinned, "Sure sweetie! We can talk about anything you want!"

Tara took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy and she wanted to make sure that it didn't come off sounding like she was accusing Willow of anything wrong. She wasn't sure how she was going to do that. Probably best to just come out and say it and then deal with the repercussions.

"Will. Sweetie. Has Anya granted any wishes that you know of? Like maybeyour's?" There. She had finally asked it.

Willow sat in stunned silence. She should have known that Tara would figure it all out eventually. She was only fooling herself is she thought she could keep something like this from her. Tara had asked her point blank so now Willow would have to tell her the truth. The new and improved Willow just couldn't lie to the one she loved the most. The old Willow probably would have, but not the new one.

Willow sighed and hung her head. Almost in a whisper she said, "Yes, Tara. Anya granted my wish."

* * *

Giles was waiting impatiently for Buffy to arrive at the Magic Box. Why did she always have to be so difficult and tardy? There was much that had to be discussed today. He was dreading every minute of what was to come. The Council had called him earlier that morning. His request for a permanent transfer to England had been granted. He had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, his life was back in England with his new work for the Council; on the other hand, the thought of leaving Buffy in the hands of another angered him. He knew he couldn't have it both ways. His life was in England now. He just hoped that he could make Buffy understand that without too much difficulty.

The bell above the door clanged as Buffy walked into the shop. She noticed that it really was back to business as usual. Anya was chatting with a few customers while Dawn dusted the shelves. The younger Summers was working off her debt to Anya for all of the things she had stolen from the shop.

"Hey Buffy," Dawn greeted.

Buffy smiled at her sister and asked, "Working hard?"

Dawn just looked at Buffy and rolled her eyes in response to the question. Buffy chuckled to herself.

"Buffy," Giles stated heading towards the training room, "please come with me. I need to talk to you."

Suddenly, Buffy got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, just like the one she had gotten that day he called to tell her he was coming to Sunnydale. She braced herself for what was to come and followed her Watcher into the back room.

* * *

Giles motioned for her to sit down on the couch. Numbly, she complied. She felt like they had done this before, almost a lifetime ago, when she had come back from the dead. She studied his face trying to find some kind of hint of what he was going to tell her but she couldn't read him.

"Buffy," Giles said as he took a seat next to her, "the Council called me this morning. My permanent transfer to England has been approved. In two months I will no longer be your Watcher." He hadn't been able to look her in the eyes when he said the last bit so he wasn't sure what her reaction had been.

Buffy tilted her head and looked at him. This was what he was so intent on telling her? She began to giggle. She had thought that he was going to tell her that Dawn was going to grow a second head or something, or that her sister was going to turn into the Big Bad.

She covered her mouth to contain her laughter and tried to compose herself after Giles had given her his patented "I'm serious" look.

"I'm sorry," she said innocently waving her hand, "please continue."

"Buffy. This is quite serious. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Uhm. Sure Giles. You're going back to England and you officially won't be my Watcher."

"Yes, but Buffy," he continued in a somber tone, "since I will no longer be your Watcher, the Council will be assigning you a new one."

Now he had her complete attention. She felt like he had just punched her in the stomach. "What do you mean I'll be getting a new Watcher? They can't do that. Can they?" The fear in her voice was evident. The only Watcher she would ever accept was Giles. She had made that pretty clear when they had tried to force Wesley on her and then again when they came with information about Glory. She wasn't going to accept this. She would quit first. Again.

"Yes Buffy, they can. However, to ensure that you're not assigned someone like Wesley again, I have hand picked my replacement."

She was really angry now. "You've known this was coming and you didn't mention it to me? Giles how could you?"

"I didn't mention it because I wasn't sure if the transfer would be granted. There was no need to upset you before anything happened for sure."

She glared at him. How could he betray her like this? How could he come back to California and then just leave her again? Standing up quickly, she said, "Giles, I think you better go back to England. Now."

Her words stung him but he understood her hurt. He stood up next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off and turned her back to him. This was not going well. Maybe his next words would soothe her. "Buffy, there is one other thing. I also asked that the Council pay you for your duties."

Buffy's head whipped around and her eyes widened as she looked at the man she thought of as her father. Had he just said what she thought he said? "P-pay me," she asked incredulously.

"Yes, and they have agreed to do so. They refused at first, of course, but I convinced them that paying you was in their best interest."

Despite the fact that he was leaving her, again, and that she was going to be assigned a new Watcher, she ran to him and threw her arms around him. "Thank you so much Giles."

"Don't thank me yet," he said while taking an envelope out of his breast pocket, "You may want to wait until you open this."

She took the envelope from him and ripped it open. Her eyes widened. She looked from the check to Giles and then back to the check. She felt like she was going to faint. "G-Giles," she stammered, "is this for real?"

"It's quite real. You have done an enormous job these last six years Buffy, and you've done it well. Therefore you should be compensated accordingly."

Her eyes welled up and she was sure she was going to start crying any minute now. She had never seen so many zeros on a check before. Usually the zeros were on the bank account statements. She looked at the check one last time, folded it and put it in her pocket. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear as she hugged him again.

Breaking off the hug and taking a step back, she cocked her head to the side and folder her arms across her chest. "Now," she demanded, "tell me about this other Watcher."  



	3. Secrets & Wealth

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Willow reveals her secret to Tara while Giles prepares to leave for England  
**Timeframe:** Immediately following "Revelations"_

- 3 -  
Secrets & Wealth

The sun was higher in the sky now and the earlier breeze that had been gently blowing through the trees subsided. Two figures sat on the ground of the UC Sunnydale campus oblivious to those that passed by them. The blonde Wicca sat in front of her lover and studied her closely trying to discern whether or not she could see anything physically different about the other girl. Nothing seemed out of place. She continued to listen intently as the red head explained the circumstances behind her wish. Most of the time she sat in stunned silence and at other times she interrupted for more details. This was one of those times.

"Willow, you absorbed the text right off the pages? How is that possible," Tara asked in disbelief.

"I-I don't remember how exactly," Willow whispered, "most things are kind of a blur. Except the big parts." She glanced at Tara assuming that the girl in front of her who loved her and knew her best of all, would have hatred in her eyes. Instead, Willow saw compassion and concern. It was all she could do to keep herself together long enough to finish the story.

Tara looked over at Willow who was now in tears. As the story continued to unfold, Willow seemed to shrink in front of her, and away from her. Tara wanted to reach out and put her hand on Willow's to reassure her that things would be okay but Willow had to go through this alone. From the look on Willow's face, Tara knew that Willow had only scratched the surface of what happened in the other reality.

"Willow," Tara said soothingly, "I know this is hard for you but you have to get it all out in order for the healing process to begin. I'm not going to judge you."

"But you haven't heard everything yet, Tara! I've done awful things. Awful. You have no idea," Willow cried, "I don't deserve to be this happy. Ever." Months of pent up guilt started to flow through her body. She began to sob as she got to the worst part of all, Warren's death.

Tara gasped in shock and horror as Willow recounted how she murdered Warren in cold blood. How could her lover be capable of something this horrendous? The sobbing girl in front of her didn't look like a murderer, she looked more like a lost puppy trying to find it's way home. She had promised Willow she wouldn't judge her but it was becoming more and more difficult by the second. Especially since Willow was now explaining how she tortured Giles and tried to kill Dawn and Buffy. Not to mention the fact that she had tried to kill Jonathan and Andrew even though they had nothing to do with Tara's death. How could she ever look at Willow the same way again?

"And then, after Xander talked me out of destroying the world, I said the one thing that changed it all. I said, 'I wish Tara had never died.' I didn't know that Anya was a demon again. I swear. I didn't say it on purpose. I was in a lot of pain and I was confused. It justcame out." She finished the tale without looking back at Tara and let the sobs rip through her body. It didn't seem to make her feel better that she had finally bared herself to Tara. Despite the warmth from the sun, she felt chilled to the bone.

It was all Tara could do to not get up and run away, as far away as possible. She tried to wrap her mind around the things that Willow had just told her but she couldn't. It was too much to absorb. She should have questioned Willow more closely that day Warren showed up with a gun to kill Buffy. Willow had never had visions before that but Tara had accepted her lover's explanation because she loved Willow with all her heart. Despite everything, she still loved her.

Willow couldn't take the silence between them. She needed to know that things were going to be okay, that Tara still loved her despite what happened in the other reality. She hesitantly reached out and put her hand on Tara's shoulder.

The hand on her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts. She looked over at Willow. The girl's tears had been replaced with fear.

"Please, Tara," Willow pleaded, "please don't hate me."

* * *

"So do you think Buffy will let me have my 16th birthday party at the Bronze," Dawn asked Anya.

Anya stopped counting her newly acquired money and looked over at Dawn. Didn't the girl know not to interrupt her while she counted money? She would have to teach the teen that certain times were quiet times. "Dawn, can't you see that I'm counting the money right now? Never interrupt me while I'm with the money."

"Sorry," Dawn said defensively.

"And no," Anya continued as she went back to what she was doing, "I don't think Buffy will let you have a party anywhere but at home."

Dawn was starting to become annoyed with the demon. "Why not," she asked with irritation in her voice.

"For one, it would cost too much money"

"What would cost too much money?" Buffy asked as she entered the room.

"Dawn thinks that you will allow her to have a party at the Bronze. But we all know that it would be too expensive for your meager budget," Anya stated matter-of-factly.

Buffy looked over at Dawn who stood with her head down. They had been through a lot this past year. Plus, it was her sister's sweet sixteenth birthday. How could she not throw her the best party ever? She put on a smug smile and pulled the envelope out of her back pocket. Waving it in the air, she said, "I think we can arrange something."

* * *

In the office Giles could hear the voices coming from the shop. He was sure that Buffy was sharing her new found wealth with her sister and Anya. The shrill screams were the first hint that the cat had been let out of the bag. He smiled to himself as he remembered the long drawn out argument that he had with Quentin about compensating Buffy for her Slayer duties.

"Rupert," Quentin had said staring incredulously at the younger Watcher, "this is unprecedented! The Slayer has never been given wages of any type."

"Well maybe it's about time that changed," Giles had stated with a glare.

"Why on earth should we change the rules now, Rupert? What makes this Slayer so special? Should we give her a company card and an expense account as well? Would that make you happy?"

Quentin had been flippant with the last statement so Giles had gone into total Ripper mode. He hadn't meant to, but it just happened. He had grabbed Quentin by the shirt collar and growled, "Because, Buffy is the only Slayer that you have right now. And if you don't help her out financially, soon you won't have a Slayer to save the bloody world!"

Looking back, Giles was sure he would have strangled the pompous man, which would not have helped Buffy's cause at all. In the end though, Giles had gotten what he wanted and what his Slayer needed, a tidy sum of money that would be sent to her monthly. Not to mention the nice little expense account set up in her name to pay for damages incurred in the line of duty. Which he had forgotten to mention to her. She had been so excited about the paycheck that he had forgotten about the account. As soon as she was done sharing her good news, he would be sure to tell her the rest of it. This way she could pay for the house repairs with the account money and use her salary for other things. It was the least he could do for the girl he thought of as his daughter.

Giles took off his glasses, closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He needed to make the phone call to the airline to book his trip back to England. But he just couldn't bring himself to pick up the phone. As much as he wanted to go back home, he wanted to stay in Sunnydale more. He needed to go back to make sure that his replacement was properly trained. The man had proved to be an apt pupil and Giles was pleasantly surprised by that. He hadn't been totally convinced that the new Watcher could handle Buffy but the man's background and devotion to becoming a Watcher had convinced him otherwise. However, he did have some personal reservations about him. But those reservations were due to certain factors in the man's past. Not that the past didn't matter, but the present was more important at this time.

He smiled again as he heard the excited buzzing turn to laughter. It was good to hear Buffy laugh again. He sighed and picked up the phone. However, after he glanced at the calendar, he dropped the phone back into it's cradle. Written on the calendar in large letters was "Dawn's 16th Birthday." Of course! That's why her powers were getting stronger. All the more reason for him to stay, at least until the party was over and he could make sure the girl wasn't going to harm anything or anyone, including herself. With that thought, he picked up the phone again and made reservations to go home one week from today.

* * *

"Oh my God, Buffy," Dawn screeched, "this is so great! We don't have to worry about food or clothes or"

"Social Services, breathing down my neck," Buffy stated with a grin.

Dawn smiled brightly at her sister. This was so totally cool. Now Buffy didn't have to worry about anything but doing her job. Spike would have been happy for her too, Dawn thought. The thought made her sad and the smile slowly faded from her lips.

Buffy had noticed Dawn's expression change and was about to ask what was bothering the teenager but Anya had ripped the paycheck out of her hands and was talking to her now.

"Buffy," Anya stated with authority, "I could help you invest this. You really should invest most of your paycheck you know. For retirement purposes. When you deposit this, I'll help you set up an Ameritrade account. I have a great understanding of stocks and bonds as you know. I can help you make a lot of money. It's very easy."

"Uh. Thanks Anya. I think," Buffy said trying to return the demon's enthusiasm about money. She noticed that Anya was grinning from ear to ear. She had to hand it to the girl; she did know money and how to make lots of it.

As Anya went back to counting her own money, Buffy and Dawn began to discuss what they should buy first, new furniture or new clothing. "Both," they shouted in unison. As Buffy went to ask Giles to drive them to the mall, she started having a strange sensation. She slowly looked around the shop but couldn't see anything. Shrugging it off as nothing, she continued on her way.

* * *

The two girls had walked back to the dorm in total silence. Willow's tears had finally stopped but she had a throbbing headache. She walked over to the sink and took two aspirin to ease the pain in her head. It was after lunchtime now. Even though she had been hungry before she and Tara talked, she seriously doubted that anything she ate now would stay down. She stood in front of the mirror and stared at herself. She didn't like what she saw. Standing before her was someone she didn't know. A murderer. 

Tara sat quietly on the bed staring straight ahead. She had been too lost in thought to remember the walk back to the room. Now she was trying to think things through with a clearer mind. From what she understood, the wish had taken Willow back in time, before the shooting. This meant that everything "Dark Willow" had done was erased, giving this Willow a second chance to set things right. Willow was definitely different now. This Willow refused to use magic, even when they were in danger. And even when Warren had rendered Tara unconscious. Tara knew that this had to count for something. But how was she going to get past the fact that even within her Willow was a dark side that was deadly? 

Willow turned to look at her lover who sat silently on the bed. The silence was still deafening. She couldn't take it anymore. Hanging her head, she said softly, "I can move out if you want. I'll move back into Xander's place." 

"What would you tell them?" Tara asked quietly. She wasn't sure that she wanted Willow to leave. Ever. But she wasn't sure if she wanted her to stay either. 

Willow contemplated Tara's question. What would she say to her friends? "I'm sorry but we're all living in an alternate reality that I created, please pass the salt?" That didn't sound quite right, or real.

"I could tell them that the room was just too small for the two of us"

"Willow, I don't think they'll believe that."

"Yeah," Willow sighed, "You're right. I guess I'll think of something." She grabbed her suitcases out of the closet and began to pack. The tears that she thought had stopped were now beginning to sting the back of her eyes again.

Tara walked over to Willow and put her hand on her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"I-I'm packing. I understand why you don't want me around."

"Willow, I never said that I wanted you to leave. I was just wondering what you would tell everyone."

Willow stared at her lover. The tears began to flow again. Through the tears she cried, "I'm so sorry that I've messed things up for us. All I ever seem to do is make a mess."

Tara cupped Willow's chin in her hand and stared into her lover's eyes. She saw pain and remorse. This Willow, the Willow she knew here and now, was not capable of such demonic acts. Her heart knew this to be true. She put both of her hands on either side of Willow's face and kissed the red head gently on the lips.

Willow looked at Tara in surprise. "Are you forgiving me?"

"No Willow. I'm not forgiving you."

"But I don't understand"

"First, before there is any forgiving, you need to come to terms with the darkness that you have within yourself. You need to confront it and deal with it in order to become whole. Our love cannot do that. But I will help you and I will stick by you because I love you Willow. I will always love you, no matter what.

Willow threw her arms around Tara and cried. She wasn't being forgiven but she was being given the chance to make it right. That's all she could really ask for at this point in time.

* * *

The dark haired teenager had thought for sure that Buffy had seen him peering in the front window of the Magic Box. He had never met her but he was sure that the petite, blonde girl was Buffy. It had to be her. She was beautiful. Now he understood what that monster had seen in her. Why he loved her. The more he thought about the two of them together, the angrier he became.

"No one should willingly give love to a monster," he whispered as he slowly moved to look through the window again. The dark haired girl was now dusting books at the front of the shop. He studied her closely. This girl was somehow related to that Buffy person, perhaps sisters? The thought brought a smile to his face. Maybe he could use that to his advantage.

He hid in the afternoon shadows as Buffy, Dawn and Giles came out of the shop and got into the rental car. He had heard them say something about a mall and shopping. The mall. It was the perfect place for him to blend in and watch his prey.  


  



	4. Questions & Invitations

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Buffy questions Giles' judgment while Dawn and Janice go shopping for more than just dresses  
**Timeframe:** A few days after "Secrets & Wealth"_

- 4 -  
Questions & Invitations

Dawn looked down at her watch and saw that she was running behind. She should call Buffy to let her know that she would be meeting up with her later than she expected. She was at the mall, again, so training would just have to wait. This was important stuff. Janice's mother had taken the girls to the mall so that they could shop for dresses for Dawn's party. Buffy had given her some money and told her to get something special. This dress certainly did make her happy and it made her feel special. She smiled to the reflection in the mirror.

"Dawn that dress is just so you," Janice exclaimed.

The silk, deep purple tank dress stopped right before her knees. It hugged her body in just the right places, showing off her curves in a way that made her look sexy but not too sexy. "I know," she sighed as she looked at the price tag again hoping it would cost less than the last time she had looked, "but it's so expensive."

"Didn't your sister give you money to buy something nice?" Janice asked her friend.

Dawn pulled her hair up and looked into the mirror again. The dress certainly did look great on her. "Yeah she did, but I didn't want to spend all of it on one dress. I'm gonna need shoes and a purse too."

Janice grinned at Dawn, "Not a problem. We'll just, you know"

"No way! I so don't want to get into trouble again. Besides, Buffy respects me now and I don't want to screw that up. I'll figure something out."

"Dawn," Janice stated, "just remember that your party is less than two days away."

"I know. Hey, maybe Anya will let me take out an advance on my salary. Not that I have much of a salary cause I'm working off the debt, but what's a little more debt, right?"

She would ask Anya about the advance tomorrow morning. Maybe she would even talk to Giles about it. He always seemed more than willing to help her and Buffy. It was nice having a father figure around again. Too bad he was going back to England after her party. She would miss him. After taking one last look in the mirror, Dawn headed to the dressing room to change back into her clothes. The thought of Giles leaving again made her sad, but not a depressed kind of sad. She didn't like that he had to leave but she knew he had to go. She sat down on the bench in the small room and sighed. Why was it that all the men in her life always seemed to leave? Was it a Summers' curse? First their father had left them, then Angel, Riley and Giles and now Spike.

Spike had sworn he'd never leave. She tried not to blame Buffy for the vampire's departure but some days it was really hard. She missed him so much, and now, here she was turning sixteen in a couple of days and getting all of these powers she didn't understand. He should be there with her now because she was sure he would understand. He always did. No one understood what she was going through. Giles had rambled on about some lost prophecies referring to her but she had tuned him out. It was just way too boring for her to focus on. Basically, all she had heard was, "blah, blah, blah, more powers to come on your birthday, blah, blah, blah."

She wondered what kind of powers she would have next. In the last few months she had gotten Slayer strength and stamina, but not the quick healing powers. Although, she thought with a smile, I do have this really cool healing thing of my own going on. She thought about the times that Buffy had come home from patrolling with cuts and scrapes and how she had traced those cuts with her fingers, making them disappear. It was still pretty freaky, but cool. It always gave Xander the wiggins. That just made her giggle and chase him around the apartment yelling at him to let her touch him. The thought made her smile to herself as she tied her shoe.

After they finished changing, Dawn and Janice went to the register and paid for their purchases. Dawn had given in and bought the dress. It was her birthday and she wanted to look great, especially since there would be so many cute boys at the Bronze that night. She was going to have the time of her life, money be damned!

While they paid for their dresses, the dark haired, teenaged boy watched them. They hadn't noticed him following them. He had made sure of that.

* * *

"Buffy," Giles demanded, "you do understand that Dawn is going to have powers that we cannot even begin to comprehend?"

Buffy looked at her watcher and folder her arms across her chest defiantly. She wondered if she would be able to have this kind of attitude with her new watcher. Didn't matter. Giles was still her watcher for at least another month so she would do what she had always done, be snippy and get away with it.

"Why," she asked, "because some stupid scroll says so? Are you even sure that your buddy translated it right? Cause ya know, we've had one-word mix-ups before. And exactly what type of powers are we talking about here? Little ones? Big ones? Apocalyptic ones? What?"

"Yes. I'm quite certain that this translation is correct. I have talked to my protégé in England and have confirmed it with him. There's no mistake. As for Dawn's potential powers, we're not quite sure what they will be exactly."

Buffy laughed at him. "You're 'protégé'? Is that what you call Council lackeys these days? And why do you keep referring to him as your 'protégé' or 'the new watcher.' Doesn't this idiot have a name?"

"Buffy do be reasonable. My protégéyour new watcher Right. What I am trying to say is that he is well versed in the language on the scrolls. I trust his translations implicitly." He was lying. He didn't trust the man implicitly, maybe his translating abilities, but not him personally. He would just keep that little bit of information to himself, no need for Buffy to know.

Buffy eyed him suspiciously. There was something he wasn't telling her, she could feel it. Ever since the day he told her that he would be returning to England and she would be getting a new watcher, she felt like he was holding something back. Whenever she tried to bring up the subject of the new guy, he would dance around it. All that he would tell her is that he hand picked his replacement, so she should trust him to make this monumental decision in her best interest. That whole line of reasoning didn't sit well with her. Just because she trusted Giles didn't mean she would trust anyone else on that damned Council. In her opinion, the whole Council was nothing but a bunch of dangerous flakes. She despised them and their practices. She jumped up on the pommel horse and sat down.

"Giles, the only one from the Council that I trust is you," she pouted as she swung her legs back and forth, "The others can jump off a cliff without a parachute for all I care."

"Buffy, please. Let's focus on Dawn, shall we?"

"No. As much as you say you trust this guy you haven't given me any reasons why I should. You won't tell me his name or anything about him. Giles, you're not making this easy."

Giles took off his glasses to clean them. Why did she always have to be so bloody difficult? He wasn't at liberty to divulge anything about her next watcher. He had been sworn to complete secrecy and since he was still on the Council's payroll, he had to abide by their wishes. Personally, he wanted to just tell her everything so they could get it out of the way before the poor chap got there. Unfortunately, it wasn't his decision to make. But he would be the one to pay the price in the end. He always did.

He looked at his Slayer. She had grown up so much over the last year. He barely recognized her, except when she pouted. That look he knew well, all too well, it had melted his heart and made him love her. No matter what, she would always be his Slayer, his daughter. He could tell by her mannerisms and the way she handled herself, that she had almost returned to the person that she was before she had selflessly given her life to save the world. She was spunky and headstrong again; attributes he found most endearing, but he also detected sadness within her. 

"Buffy, were you able to reach your father?"

"Nice change of subject, Giles. And no, he hasn't returned any of my calls. You would think that the man would want to be here for his daughter's sixteenth birthday."

"Right. I'm sorry. I do hope that Dawn won't be too upset by his absence."

Buffy shook her head. "Nah. She knows he's a loser. Besides, you're here."

Giles returned her smile with one of his own. He certainly was going to miss them.

* * *

"Dawn he is so checking you out," Janice squealed.

"No way. He's not looking at me," Dawn said trying not to blush.

They had noticed a group of boys standing by the railing watching them. One in particular had been watching Dawn intently. She tried not to stare at him but he was so handsome. He had dark hair and beautiful blue eyes. She saw him look at her and she looked away quickly, trying not to let him know that she was interested. She turned to Janice and started giggling as teenage girls do around teenage boys. The boys continued to stare at them as they walked over to the food court to buy milkshakes. That had been Janice's idea. This way, they could sit at one of the tables and let the boys check them out some more. It would also give the boys an opportunity to come over to talk to them.

Dawn sat with her back to the group. She was just too nervous to face them. Her experience with boys was limited to one date, last Halloween. She was pretty sure that date didn't even count since the boy had been a vampire. And, she'd had to stake him with her pencil to keep him from turning her. So much for her first kiss. She was really starting to believe that the women in her family were doomed in the romance department. It just didn't seem fair. Why did they have to live on the Hellmouth? Why did her sister have to be the chosen one? Why did she have to be a big ball of mystical energy? All of these why's and not one answer. It was frustrating. Just like her social life.

Dawn looked at Janice questioningly when the girl's eyes got huge. Janice tried to tell Dawn that the dark haired boy was on his way over to the table but all she could manage was a cough.

"Are you okay Janice?" Dawn asked her friend with concern.  
  
Janice smiled brightly and said, "Hi!"

Dawn couldn't understand what had gotten into the girl. Why would she be saying hi to her? Unless

"Excuse me," a boy asked from behind Dawn, "can I sit down?"

Dawn shrank against her chair. Was there actually a boy asking to sit down with them? She turned around in her chair and looked behind her. There was the dark haired boy. Standing there, staring at her. She was in shock.

Noticing her friend's lack of ability to speak to the boy, Janice pulled out a chair and said, "Sure. You can sit here."

"Thanks," he said sitting down between Janice and Dawn.

"I'm Janice," she said reaching out to shake his hand.

"Hi Janice," he said with a small smile. Then he turned to Dawn. "And you? Who are you?"

Dawn was taken aback by the teenager's forwardness. "Uh, uhm"

"You have a name, right," the boy asked her.

"Uh, y-yeah. Dawn. My name is Dawn." She couldn't stop looking into his eyes. They were so deep and blue, a place you could get lost in. He looked kind of scruffy but still handsome.

"Hello Dawn. Nice to meet you. I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me some time?"

Wow! Did he just ask her out? Had she heard him right? She looked over at Janice nervously. Her friend just gave her those huge eyes that said, "Say yes!" She was trying to answer him but all she could do was smile. As she was tripping over more "uhms" and "uhs," Janice's mom met up with the girls and informed them that it was time to go. Dawn looked at her watch and saw how late it was. Buffy was really going to kick her butt this time.

"Oh my gosh! We really have to go but it was really nice meeting you," Dawn managed to say as she and Janice picked up their things to follow the girl's mom. Okay. You can say all of that without a problem but you can't answer him about a date? How stupid could she be?

Janice elbowed her after they got up and started walking away. "You should invite him to your party," Janice whispered to Dawn excitedly.

A shy smile crept across Dawn's face. "You think I should?"

"Totally."

"I don't know. I don't even know him!"

"Well, what better way to do it than at your party," Janice exclaimed.

Dawn smiled at Janice. She couldn't believe she was about to do this. She turned and ran back to the boy. "Hey," she yelled but he didn't turn around. And since she didn't know his name there was really no way to get his attention other than to tap him on the back or tug on his arm. She chose the later.

"Excuse me," she said shyly, "I'm sorry but I don't know your name."

He turned around and grinned at her. "Maybe you can learn that next time we meet."

She bit her bottom lip and took a deep breath. "Uhm. I'm having, I mean my sister is throwing me a 16th birthday party at the Bronze day after tomorrow. I was wonderingare you interested? I meanwould you come?" She could barely breathe trying to get that out. And now she was holding her breath waiting for his answer.

He studied her face for a few seconds. He could tell she was interested in him. This was a good thing. Better than he had hoped. "Sure. I'll come," he said with a heart-melting grin. He had to make sure that he left her definitely wanting to see him again.

"Great," she said nervously, "it's at 7. Just tell them you're with the Summers' party."

He nodded in understanding but didn't say a word. Hadn't someone said that girls love the strong, silent type?

She smiled brightly as she backed away from him, still looking into his deep eyes. After a few steps she decided that she should turn around before she tripped and made a fool of herself. Before she hurried back to where Janice and her mother were standing, she looked over her shoulder to get one last glimpse of the boy who had just made her heart skip a bunch of beats. But he was gone. Now she was really looking forward to her party, not that she hadn't been looking forward to it before but now it was really going to be special. Hellmouth? What hellmouth? Today Sunnydale was the most beautiful place on earth.  


  



	5. Birtday Surprises

_**Author:** PSUbrat   
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Dawn's birthday brings surprises all around  
**Timeframe:** A couple of days after "Questions & Invitations"_

- 5 -  
Birthday Surprises

Xander woke to the sound of the alarm going off from Buffy's room. Did she really need to have it that loud? He was going to have to get a silencer for that thing. Then again, a silencer for something that was supposed to wake you up probably defeated the whole purpose. He looked at the clock. Too damn early. Good thing Anya didn't live here anymore. She would have been in Buffy's face about the noise by now. He laid there for a few more minutes, hoping that Buffy would turn that god-forsaken thing off. After about five minutes of continual screeching, he pulled himself out of bed and padded barefoot across the living room to his houseguests' room. He slowly opened the door.

"Buffy," he asked without peering into the room, "are you and the Dawnster awake and decent yet?"

There was no answer. He peeked his head into the room and looked around. The beds were made. It looked like no one had slept in them all night.

"Buff? You in the bathroom?"

Still no answer.

Frowning, he stepped into the girls' room and headed for the bathroom. He had almost made it there when he heard voices coming from the living room along with the sound of the front door closing. With a look of confusion covering his face, he turned to make his way back to the living room.

"Morning Xander," Dawn said brightly, "it's a beautiful day out there."

"Hey Xan. Whatcha doin' in there?" Buffy asked putting down the box of donuts on the table.

"I was looking for you two but I see that you've already been found. Oh! Donuts!"

"Buffy," a female voice called from Xander's bedroom, "do you know where Xander is?"

"He's out here Anya," Buffy yelled.

Slowly Xander turned to look at Buffy, "Anya's here," he asked with a mouthful of jelly donut and wide eyes.

"Yeah," Dawn answered taking a donut for herself, "we met up with her on the way home and decided to walk here together."

"Xander," Anya stated as she came out of the bedroom, "we need to talk."

"Talk about what, sweetie?" Xander asked still eating his donut and trying not to make eye contact. He had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"Sex," Anya said staring at him, "we haven't had any since you've come home from the hospital. And I think it's about time."

Buffy and Dawn exchanged looks. "I'm gonna go take a shower," Buffy said quickly. 

Dawn put her half-eaten donut down on the table and followed her sister into their bedroom. This was not a conversation either one of them wanted to hear. "And, uhm, I'm gonna go with her to, uhm, make sure the shower works!"

Once inside they closed the door tightly and turned on the radio, hoping to drown out the voices coming from the living room.

* * *

Xander motioned to Anya to sit down on the couch. This wasn't the conversation he was expecting to have. He thought she would want to talk about the living arrangements and how uneconomical it was to keep two apartments. Right now, he wasn't in any hurry to have her move back in though. Things were going just fine the way they were. He was thankful that Buffy and Dawn went to their room so that he could talk to his demon girlfriend alone. His sex life was not a topic that he wanted to share with either Summers girl.

"An," he started, looking into her eyes, "I'm not sure that we're ready to take that step in our relationship yet."

"What? Are you kidding," Anya demanded, "we should have had sex the night you came home. It's very important to have sex in a relationship."

"Anya, you do know that I love you, don't you?"

"Yes. That's why we should have sex. Now. We both love each other. And we're happy again. So there should be lots of sex and good orgasms."

He sighed and looked back up at her. This was going to be difficult for him to say but he felt that he needed to say it. "An. I don't know when I'll be ready to make that kind of commitment to you. I'm not sure I can get past the fact that you're a demon again."

She was on the verge of tears. She didn't understand why he didn't want her that way. She had believed that when they got back together, he had accepted every part of who she was, apparently she had been wrong. "Xander, I don't understand. I thought you loved me despite me being a demon? And it's not like I've been a practicing demon. I'm still the same person."

"No Anya, you're not. You're a demon. Not a person. And I'm just not sure I can make love to a demon."

She sat in stunned silence. Slowly she got up off the couch and made her way to the front door. As she was about to leave, she turned to him and said, "When you love someone Xander, you love them for who they are. Not what you want them to be." The tears were starting to come and she needed to get out of there. She didn't want him to see her cry.

Xander watched her leave. Could this day get any worse?

* * *

Several hours later, it was back to business at the Magic Box. Anya was busy behind the counter ringing up a customer while Dawn helped another customer at the front of the store. Giles and Buffy were in the back room training, leaving Xander alone at the round table to read his latest comic book. He tried desperately to enjoy the story but his mind just couldn't focus. He kept replaying the conversation he'd had with Anya that morning. He was sorry he had hurt her, but honestly, he couldn't see himself spending the rest of his life with a demon, especially a vengeance demon. It just wasn't right. Was he wrong to feel this way? He looked over at Anya and studied her closely. She still looked like the woman he fell in love with. She still sounded and acted like her too. He was so confused.

The bell over the door rang as Willow and Tara walked in carrying a tray full of cupcakes. Tara walked over to Dawn to give her a hug. "Happy Birthday, Dawnie," she said squeezing the young girl.

Dawn blushed and thanked her friend. Other than Buffy, no one else had mentioned it yet.

"We brought you cupcakes," Willow said with a grin. She headed over to the table to put them down. Noticing that her friend looked deep in thought she asked, "Xander, what's up? How come you're not at work?"

"Hey Will," he said unenthusiastically, "I took the day off to hang with the Dawnster on her birthday.

"That was sweet of you," Willow smiled.

"Yes. Wasn't it," Anya stated, "Dawn's not a demon so he can do nice things for her."

Confused, Willow looked at Xander with a questioning expression. He shook his head and waved it off, letting her know he didn't want to talk about it.

Willow was concerned about her friend but since he didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't push the subject. "Hey Dawnie, come on over here and we'll sing 'happy birthday' to you."

"You guys don't have to do that," Dawn said with a grin.

"Yes we do," Buffy said as she and Giles emerged from the training room.

They all gathered around the table as Tara put a candle in one of the cupcakes and lit it. After they were done singing, they sat down at the table to enjoy the confections.

"So Dawn," Xander asked, "how does it feel to be sixteen?"

"Uhm, really no different than yesterday. Except," she said looking at Buffy with hope in her eyes, "for the fact that I can now get a license."

"I said I would think about it Dawn," Buffy said trying to give her sister a stern look.

Dawn just smiled sweetly at her sister, knowing that this wasn't the time to fight this particular battle.

"I think the big question," Giles stated with concern, "is whether or not you feel differently? Have you felt anything unusual? Any new powers to report?"

"No. I don't feel differently. And nothing new to report."

"Very well. I suppose we will have to keep an eye out to see how your new powers will manifest themselves. The sixteenth birthday is always significant in the rights of passage. It dates as far back as ancient"

"Giles," Buffy interrupted, "I think we get the idea."

"Right. Sorry."

* * *

Dawn thought the afternoon seemed to drag on. Things had been slow all day around the shop. She sat on the stool and paged through a magazine, hoping it would pass the time more quickly. It wasn't. She just wanted to go home and get ready for her party. As she started to read an interesting article, the sound of raised voices came from the back room. The yelling was getting louder. Anya and Xander had been fighting ever since this morning. The sex talk must not have gone too well. Dawn glanced over at her sister who was talking with Willow, Tara and Giles at the table. They had stopped talking as well and were looking towards the back room.

The yelling got even louder when Xander and Anya came into the shop area. They were oblivious to the others in the room.

"Anya, this is the perfect solution," Xander shouted.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Anya said emphatically, "I refuse to do that."

"So what you're saying is you don't love me enough to destroy your power center and become human again," he demanded.

"Xander I already told you my answer. I love you but I won't do it."

Willow stared at the feuding couple. She felt responsible for this situation. If Willow had never made the wish, Anya would be able to destroy her pendant and be happy with Xander. She looked over at Tara with pleading eyes. Her lover squeezed her hand and smiled. Willow got up out of her seat and went over to stand between Xander and Anya.

"Xander," Willow said softly, "Anya can't destroy her power center."

"And why not," he demanded again.

"Willow, please sit down. You don't have to"

"No Anya, I do have to. It's my fault."

"Will, it's not your fault we're fighting. That's just crazy talk," he stated as he put his hand on Willow's shoulder.

"No Xander. It is my fault. You want her to be human again. And the only way that will happen is if we destroy her pendant. Wellwe can't do that."

"And again," Xander said with confusion, "I ask, huh?"

Willow looked over at Tara. "Go ahead Willow. It'll be okay," Tara said giving her lover a reassuring smile.

"Because," Willow sighed, "I made a wish and if you destroy it, nothing will ever be the same again." And in her mind she said, "please pass the salt."  



	6. Confession

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Dawn's birthday continues to bring surprises all around  
**Timeframe:** Immediately following "Birthday Surprises" _

  
- 6 -  
Confession

The silence that hung in the air was so thick Willow could barely breathe. She had just confessed to everyone in the room that she had altered their reality, with the help of Anya. She was trying to understand how a few simple words said in pain could make such a huge impact on her life, and the lives of her friends. She tried to look around the room, to read each one's expression, but she found it hard to even look at Tara. She noticed that Xander looked like he had been punched in the stomach and the others were just stunned. Now she was going to have to explain to them what had happened in the other reality. Was she ready for this?

Tara was the first to speak. "I know that this is a lot to take in. I had the same reaction as all of you when Willow first told me, but you need to listen to how and why it happened before you pass any judgment on her. Including you Xander."

"You're quite right Tara," Giles said quietly, "Willow, please come sit down and explain what is that has happened."

Willow slowly shuffled her feet towards the empty chair at the table. This was the second time this week that she was going to have to go through all those terrible memories and pain.

"Why don't you start from the beginning, Will," Buffy stated calmly.

"Welldo you remember the day that I warned you about Warren coming with a gun? That's the day it happened. Well, we actually lived that particular day, twice."

"I only remember living it once," Dawn said speaking up.

"Yeah. You guys will only remember the one time, which is actually the second time, but I remember everything. I didn't at first, I was confused; but then, over time, I started remembering." 

Buffy looked at her friend. This was obviously very hard on the girl. Buffy felt for her but she needed to know that Willow's wish hadn't put them in more danger than they had been in, in the other reality. "Will, why don't you tell us what happened before you made the wish?"

Willow wasn't sure she could handle telling everyone about Tara's death and her subsequent rampage but Tara took her hand and squeezed it. Tara gave her strength to go on. "It all started when Warren came with the gun," she said looking at Buffy, "he shot at Xander first, you second and then a third bullet hit Tara in our room." The memory of Tara's face and the blood all over the girl's shirt, made Willow's eyes cloud over with tears. Her voice wavered as she continued; "Warren had shot her in the back and killed her. Right in front of me. I tried to bring her back by summoning Osiris, but he refused my pleadings."

"It wasn't a mystical death," Giles muttered.

"Exactly. I was so distraught. I walked out of the house and met up with Xander who was going to the hospital with Buffy since she had been shot. That's when I found out it was Warren that had done this. I-I lost my mind. I came here"

"And she put me in stasis," Anya added, "because I tried to stop her. I could feel her pain. But she wanted to do the vengeance thing herself."

"Oh. Poor Anya. Couldn't do her job," Xander said sarcastically.

Anya scowled at him.

Giles growled at the young man, "Xander, please do shut up." He nodded at the red head to continue with her story.

"I came to the shop and absorbed all of the black majicks books that were here. And when I say absorbed, I mean it literally. My hair and eyes turned black. I-I think I kinda looked like my doppelganger."

"Much worse," Anya chimed in.

"Uh. Thanks Anya. Anyway, I saved Buffy's life at the hospital but then I went after Warren. I tortured him and I killed him in cold blood. Buffyyou and Xander and Anya tried to stop me, but you didn't get there in time, and then I went after Jonathan and Andrew. You managed to save them but not before you and I went a couple of rounds."

"Buffy she totally kicked your ass," Anya stated.

They all looked at the demon.

"What? Well she did," Anya shot back.

"I also threatened Dawn, and I tortured Giles too. Giles teleported here with borrowed magic, like he did when we were fighting Warren. I drained him of his powers. After that, I went to the top of the hill and called upon the dark powers to destroy the world. Xander stopped me, though." She looked at her friend and smiled.

"Imagine that," Xander said smiling, "I saved the world. I am the man!" After a few seconds, it sank in and he added, "Too bad I'm not that man in this reality."

"After Xander saved me, I cried out that I wished Tara had never died."

"And that's where I came in. I granted her wish," Anya said with a smile.

"Oh, that's something to be proud of," Xander hissed at her.

"I was just doing my job," Anya screamed back at him.

"Well if it wasn't for your job, we wouldn't be in this situation right now, would we?"

"Will the two of you just stop," Buffy yelled. She turned to her friend and asked, "Anything else Will?

"No. That's pretty much the condensed version. I swear I didn't make the wish on purpose. I didn't know that Anya had gotten her vengeance on again. And that's why we can't destroy her center of power. I'm sorry."

"It does explain quite a bit actually," Giles said cleaning his glasses, "It would explain why the coven said the situation had changed. Originally, they had told me that a powerful force based on pain was rising, but then when I went to them again after I couldn't reach any of you, they said that the force was now based on vengeance against Buffy. Really quite amazing."

Xander was pacing now. He apparently had been the hero in the other reality, the true reality. Now he was a nothing again. His anger got the best of him. "Willow, you do realize that it was your fault that I almost died, don't you?"

"Xander," most everyone screamed at him.

"How could you say that to her, Xander?" Dawn asked in shock.

"Xander, I almost died too," Willow whispered.

"So now we're all stuck in your little world. Now I'll never have my girlfriend back and it's all your fault. That's just great." His bitterness dripped off every word.

Willow began crying as Tara put her arms around her. She knew this was going to be hard, but she didn't think Xander would be the one to turn against her. Not like this.

"Xander I think you need to shut up now before I have to hit you," Buffy threatened, "From what I can understand, this is a much better reality to be in. Everyone is safe and sound and Willow was able to learn from her mistakes. I think that counts for something."

"Yes. I believe it does," Giles agreed.

"Xander, it's like I said before," Anya said turning to her ex-fiancé, "You'll have to love me for who I am, right now. Not who you want me to be."

"She's right Xander," Tara agreed, "You can't just pick and choose how you want things to be."

"Oh, but Willow can," he seethed. He walked over to Anya and ripped her pendant from her neck. "I say we all take a vote. Who here votes to go back to the other reality by crushing Anya's pendant?"

"I don't believe you have that choice mortal," said a rough voice to their left.

* * *

The creature standing to their left was a gray, four-horned demon with some type of moustache. Anya and Willow recognized him right away. The others weren't exactly sure who it was at first. Dawn thought that maybe she recognized him from the bison lodge at Anya and Xander's non-wedding. The demon glided into the middle of the room to stare into Xander's eyes. What did this mortal know of right and wrong? He should have sent one of his demons to take care of the boy when he had left Anya at the altar. How dare he make one of his best vengeance demons suffer like this? And she did suffer. They could all feel her pain.

"Tell me why," the demon demanded as his hand shot out and grabbed Xander by the neck, "I shouldn't just crush you instead? This is the thanks you give to the one that never left your bedside while you were dying? You don't deserve her love."

They all stared at the scene. Finally when Xander's face began to turn blue, Anya blurted out, "D'Hoffryn! No!"

He dropped the mortal to the floor and turned to his demon. "Anyanka, you and I need to have a chat."

"Whatever you have to say to her you can say in front of us," Buffy stated coldly.

"Very well," the demon said. "But first, we need to summon the second offender."

Anya turned pale. She looked as if she was going to faint right there on the spot. "D'Hoffryn," she pleaded, "I promise I'll be a better demon for you!"

He ignored her pleas. Lifting his arms to the ceiling he yelled, "Halfrek appear!"

To their right, the second vengeance demon materialized in the shop.

* * *

Halfrek looked around the shop in a daze. She wasn't certain how she had gotten there, but she knew it couldn't be good. Then her eyes fell on D'Hoffryn. She too became pale and lowered her eyes to the ground. "Forgive me master," she cried, "I won't help the mortals again."

D'Hoffryn studied both of his best vengeance demons. He was going to miss them. "You have both broken the first law of vengeance. You have disclosed vengeance information to mortals thus helping them against those from which the vengeance was to come. I'm very disappointed in both of you. Do you have any last words before I exact my punishment upon you?"

Anya and Halfrek looked at one another and then down at the floor. "No," Anya whispered. Halfrek shook her head.

"Wait a minute here," Buffy growled, "there will be no punishment exacting of any kind while I'm here."

"This is none of your concern mortal."

"Anya is my friend, this is my concern!" Buffy lunged at D'Hoffryn but Giles held her back.

"Buffy, pleasewe shouldn't interfere."

"You should listen to your watcher Slayer. Now. Back to the punishment."

Xander got to his feet quickly and stepped in between D'Hoffryn and the girls. "Don't do anything to them. If you want to punish someone, punish me."

D'Hoffryn laughed. "Silly mortal, as much as I would enjoy smiting you down, this punishment can only be delivered to those who did the offenses. Now get out of my way before I throw you out of the way."

Xander refused to budge and continued to glare at the demon. There was no way he was going to let anyone hurt Anya. Not this time. For once he was going to stand up and be a man. "Then do your best horn man."

D'Hoffryn made a sweeping motion with his hand, which sent Xander flying into the counter. Anya ran to help him up but before she could get there, she was told to stop. "Anyanka, you will leave the mortal alone. He is fine. Now go back next to Halfrek."

She did as he said and slowly took her place next to her friend.

"I have explained your transgressions and you have pleaded guilty. Therefore, you two will be punished accordingly." He chanted a few words and the two demons disappeared within a wall of white smoke.  


  



	7. What's In a Name

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Dawn's birthday continues to bring surprises all around  
**Timeframe:** Immediately following "Confession" _

  
- 7 -  
What's In A Name

Inside the Magic Box, Xander lay in a heap in front of the counter. He was staring at the spot that Anya and Halfrek seemed to disappear from. At least he was pretty sure they had disappeared. There was too much smoke to tell for certain. He couldn't even see the others over by the table since the white cloud was so thick. He could hear Dawn crying and Buffy threatening D'Hoffryn. The demon had just punished his agents of vengeance for helping the group with Warren. It was complete chaos. Xander's head hurt. He felt like he was going to pass out. Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea. She was gone. There was nothing more he could do. And instead of telling her how much he loved her, he had been a total jackass all day. "Good one Xan," he said to himself as he rested his head on the floor and closed his eyes, hoping that the darkness would take him.

Giles was still trying to hold Buffy back from going after D'Hoffryn. He could feel his grip loosening. His Slayer was strong. Much stronger than he. "Buffy, please," he whispered in her ear, "Calm down. There's nothing we can do." He could feel her relax somewhat in his arms. She was still tense and ready to spring into action, but instead she let the tears flow.

Tara and Willow huddled with Dawn in the corner. They couldn't believe that they had just witnessed this awful event. Willow wanted to use her magic on the demon, make him pay for what he had done to her friends. It was the anger taking over in her again. She recognized it as such and tried to calm herself down. Tara was right, she did need to learn to control the blackness within herself.

The smoke started to dissipate and the room returned to normal. Standing in the same spot that they had just disappeared from was Anya and Halfrek looking dazed and confused.

"Anya," Dawn cried, "you're okay!"

"Of course she's okay little girl," D'Hoffryn stated, "why wouldn't she be?"

Buffy shook herself from Giles grip and walked over to the demon, "What do you mean, why wouldn't she be? You made them go poof! What did you expect us to think?"

"Oh! You thought I had killed them? Oh my, no. Their punishment for lending their assistance to mortals is for them to become mortals themselves. They no longer have their powers."

Halfrek looked stunned. She put her hands to her face and felt the smooth contours of human skin. "Please," she begged, "don't do this. I don't want to be human."

"It is too late Halfrek. It is done. You are lucky that this is the only punishment that I have given you."

Anya stood in stunned silence. She looked over at Xander who had pulled himself up into a sitting position. He was staring at her. She slowly turned her attentions to D'Hoffryn. The demon had given her the one thing that no one else could, the chance to be human again without this reality reverting back to the old one. Tears formed in her eyes. She walked over to her former boss and stood in front of him.

D'Hoffryn took Anya into his arms and hugged her tightly. "Thank you," she whispered to him.

"You're welcome Anyanka," he whispered back. Then he broke off the hug and said in a voice that could be heard by everyone in the room, "Never call on me again or next time I might not be so generous." With that he disappeared.

* * *

Anya went through the motions of closing the Magic Box for the day. Xander had left to take Dawn home to get ready for her party. After locking the door and turning the sign to "Closed," Anya slowly made her way to the cash register to tally the sales. The day had been overwhelming and not in a the-shop-brought-in-more-money-than-usual way. All she wanted to do was to go back to her place and take a long, hot bubble bath. She walked over to her friend who was slumped in a chair. Halfrek was taking her newly forced humanity very hard. Anya remembered how she felt when she had first become human again. It was devastating to her. However, she'd had almost four years to get used to the idea of being human, Halfrek only had a few hours so far.

"Anyanka what am I going to do?" Halfrek asked. "I don't want to be human. I have no place to live and no money. What am I going to do?" The tears had started again. She wanted to blame Anyanka for this punishment but she had helped the mortals of her own free will. There was no one to blame but herself.

"It's not as bad as it seems Halfrek," Anya stated, "You can live with me and work here. Then when you get used to being human, you can do whatever you want."

"You can help us out too" Tara added, "There's always research and with your demon background you would be very helpful to us."

Halfrek looked at the blonde Wicca incredulously. "Helping mortals is how I got into this mess in the first place! Do you really think I'm going to help you again?"

"Uhm, Halfrek? Newsflash. You're mortal now," Buffy stated, "So helping us? Not a bad thing." She didn't like the idea of having another ex-demon around, especially this one. There was something about Halfrek that just didn't sit right with her. Yeah, she had trapped everyone in the house at Buffy's birthday party, but it went deeper than that. Buffy remembered the demon calling Spike by his human name. How did she know him?

"Halfrek," Anya said trying to reassure her friend, "it's going to take some time getting used to being human. I completely understand. I'll help you through it. You're going to learn to love money!"

* * *

Willow left the small gathering in the shop and headed towards the office. She needed to talk to Giles. She was sure he was going to be angry with her but she wanted to discuss something important with him anyway. She was afraid, of herself, and what she could become when provoked. She needed to come to terms with her dark side. After she had brought Buffy back from the dead, Giles had called her a rank, arrogant amateur, and he had been extremely angry with her then. She had responded by telling him not to piss her off. Plus, there was the way she went after him in the other reality, trying to destroy him. She couldn't go on like this.

Giles looked up from the desk when he heard a soft knocking on the door. "Willow, hello."

"Giles, I need to talk to you."

"Come in then. Close the door."

She shut the door behind her and took a seat next to the desk. She looked down at her hands while they tugged at her sweater. "Giles, I'm really scared," she finally said, "of myself."

Giles sat back in his chair and took off his glasses. He studied the renegade Wicca closely. She looked like a small child trying to make amends for her actions, before an authority figure could dole out the punishment. He didn't say anything to her. She needed to do this and he wasn't going to interrupt.

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. She had been expecting him to say something but he hadn't. She knew he wasn't going to make this easy. "Giles. I need help. I need to learn how to control the dark part of me. I don't want to be bad. I want to be good and help people."

There. She had said what he needed to hear, "I need help." He leaned over in his chair and took her hand. "Willow, it takes a tremendous amount of courage to admit that you have a problem and that you need help. If you're really serious about this"

"I am Giles! I am!"

"Good then. I've already made arrangements for you to come back to England with me. There you will meet with the coven in Devon and be tutored, properly, in the Wiccan practices."

She threw her arms around the watcher and thanked him over and over.

"Willow," he said easing her gently back into her seat, "this is going to be extremely difficult work. You will be required to stay in England for several months."

The reality of the situation finally hit her. "W-Would I have to go alone? Can Tara come along?"

"No. You will not have to go it alone. Tara has been cleared by the coven to accompany you to Devon. They are very much interested in her abilities as well, but that's only if she wants to go."

"Oh I'm sure she'll want to come along! When do we leave?"

"First thing tomorrow morning."

Her face fell. "What? So soon? But, but that's barely enough time to pack and say goodbye."

"You can both say your proper goodbyes tonight at Dawn's party."

She nodded her head and left the office. She had to go tell Tara the news.

* * *

Dawn's birthday party was in full swing at the Bronze by the time Anya and Halfrek arrived. Everyone was having a good time dancing and eating. Dawn was busy opening her gifts while Buffy stood against the wall watching. She wasn't in the mood to have a good time but it was her sister's party so she needed to be there. Seeing Halfrek again had brought back memories of Spike. She hated herself for even thinking about him but she couldn't stop. He still hadn't come back from wherever it was that he had gone. Even Clem was starting to worry about him. Maybe he was never coming back. Maybe she had driven him off for good. She wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. How many men had she driven off before? She had thought a lot about what Clem had said, that she was as much to blame in the relationship as Spike was. She had been just as abusive. She still wasn't sure why she had beaten Spike up so badly when he tried to stop her from turning herself into the police, but she finally realized that what she had done to him was wrong.

"Penny for your thoughts," Giles said as he came over to where she was standing.

"What? Oh. I was just thinking about how grown up Dawn is getting."

He looked at her questioningly. He knew his Slayer well enough to know that she was covering up her true thoughts but he played along, "Yes. She certainly is. She's not as strong or as powerful as you are Buffy, but with your help, she can develop into an adequate slayer; and in time, the two of you will be able to share the patrolling duties." 

"Oh I don't know about that, Giles. She's my baby sister. I don't want her to get hurt."

"Quite right. But think about it Buffy. You'd be able to take some time off. Maybe have a life outside of slaying."

"I gave up on that a long time ago," she said looking wistfully into the distance.

* * *

A few minutes later, Tara and Willow came back to the table after they were done dancing. Willow had told Tara about the trip to England when they got back to the dorm. At first, she wasn't sure that her lover would go with her to England because of the way Tara had initially reacted to the news. But then Tara had gotten out their suitcases and started packing. She had chattered on about what they would learn while they were there and what sightseeing they would do. Willow had hugged the girl in appreciation for everything she had done to help her, but the hug had turned into something much better. The thought of their lovemaking brought a smile to Willow's face. The day had seemed so grim but it was turning out to be one of the best days of her life.

Now it was time to let everyone in on their plans. Willow motioned for Buffy and Giles to come over and join them. When the pair arrived, Willow started, "Uhm, we just wanted to let you all know that Tara and I arewe're going away for a while."

"What," Dawn demanded, "Where are you going?"

"We're going to England, to Devon. Tara and I are going to study under the coven that Giles knows. He's already arranged it."

"That's great news, Will," Buffy exclaimed knowing that her friend could use the time away.

"When do you leave?" Xander asked with a mouth full of food.

"Uhm. We leave tomorrow morning," Tara said softly.

"Tomorrow morning! That's crazy," Dawn cried.

"Dawnie," Willow said trying to comfort the girl, "it'll only be for a few months, and you and Buffy can come visit if you like."

"Promise?" The teen asked.

"Promise," Willow said giving Dawn a squeeze.

"You can come and visit me as well," Giles added, "London has excellent museums and I'd be more than happy to show you around."

Dawn smiled and tried to look enthusiastic about that. She wouldn't mind seeing London but she could do without the stuffy museums. "That would be really cool, Giles. Thanks."

"Xander, do you mind if Tara and I store some of our things at your place? She has to give up her dorm room so we won't have a place to keep the rest of our stuff."

"I guess that would be okay. Buffy's house is almost done so we can store your stuff in the guest room once she leaves." Then he added with a mischievous grin, "Until then we'll just use the boxes for end tables and footrests."

"Excuse me," a voice said from behind them. They all turned to look at the person who had interrupted their family conversation. Standing there was a dark haired boy, about the same age or slightly older than Dawn.

"Hello young man," Giles said with a smile.

"Oh my god," Dawn whispered to Tara, "that's the boy I was telling you about. I really didn't think he would show up."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but your friend Janice said I could find you here."

"Uhm. It's okay," Dawn said walking towards him and blushing, "we weren't really talking about much." She took his hand and led him towards the table. "Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone."

She went around the table introducing each person. As she said their name, the boy nodded and shook their hand. "And everyone this isuhm, uhh..."

"Steven. My name is Steven," he said with smile.  


  



	8. Departures & Arrivals

_**Author:** PSUbrat   
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Willow, Tara and Giles head to England while a deadly new enemy is revealed  
**Timeframe:** The morning after "What's in a Name" _

  
- 8 -  
Departures & Arrivals

The early morning sun had just made its presence known to Sunnydale as Xander heaved the last of Willow's luggage into the trunk of his car. It was hard to believe that just about everything she owned was in that trunk. Tara's stuff too. They had no idea when they would be coming back or if they'd be coming back at all. Willow was afraid that maybe she would like England too much or that maybe she wouldn't be able to control her dark side. She had to keep an open mind about this trip, for her own sake. She looked around the campus one last time, "this must be what it feels like when you graduate," she said softly.

"What did you say sweetie?" Tara asked while she got into the car.

"Oh. Nothing really," Willow said with tears in her eyes, "I'm just going to miss this place."

"Willow are you crazy," Xander asked incredulously, "you and Tara are getting an all expenses paid trip out of the hellmouth. Please enjoy it so I can live it vicariously through you."

"Yes Willow," added Anya cheerily from the front seat, "you will love England. It doesn't have a lot of monsters. On the other hand though, they do have a great deal of vampires, werewolves and witches. You know, the usual mystical things."

"They have a lot of werewolves there?" Tara asked with a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. Maybe that's where Oz had finally found a home. What if Willow ran into Oz? What if they got back together?

Sensing her lover's thoughts, Willow took Tara's hand and tightly clasped it in her's. She gave Tara a warm smile that said, "don't worry about him, I only love you."

Tara returned Willow's smile and the two settled into the back seat together.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later the foursome arrived at the Sunnydale airport. Giles was already there waiting for them. Buffy and Dawn had driven over with Giles in his rental since there wouldn't have been enough room for them in Xander's car, what with all of Willow's and Tara's luggage. Since the new airport security measures had been instituted, only Tara, Willow and Giles could go to the gate. This meant that all goodbyes would have to be said at the check-in area. Buffy tried to remain strong but her tears got the better of her. If it had just been Giles leaving, she could have dealt just fine. But now her best friend and Tara were leaving as well. Who was she going to talk to now, especially since Spike was gone? She felt abandoned on so many different levels.

"Buffy, don't cry," Willow said as her own tears streamed down her face, "I'm gonna call you everyday, I promise! We'll be back before you know it."

"I know, Will. I'm just really gonna miss you," Buffy said as she hugged Willow.

A few feet away, Dawn and Tara were saying their goodbyes. "I promise I'll keep you updated on how things go with Steven," Dawn said giddily.

"Good. Because I want to know everything, well, maybe not everything!" Tara said with a smile. 

Dawn grinned from ear to ear.

"Oh, and don't even think about doing that young lady," Tara gasped, "You're too young, understand?"

"God Tara! I would never!" The teen was now blushing. "We just met! Besides, I think Buffy would kill me if I did that."

"Did what?" Buffy asked from behind.

"Oh nothing," Tara said trying to cover up the sex talk.

"Uhm. You know," Dawn added nervously, "Go on patrol without you." 

"Yeah, I'd kill you before the beasties would even have half a chance at you."

The hugs and goodbyes continued all around. While the others were extracting promises of phone calls and postcards, Buffy and Giles walked off to the side to say their goodbyes. "Thanks for everything Giles," Buffy said giving her watcher a slayer strength hug.

"It was my pleasure," he said gasping for air.

Realizing that she was crushing him, she released him from the embrace and took a step back so that he could catch his breath. "Sorry."

"Quite alright. Buffy, I want you to remember that if you need anything"

"I can call you day or night. Is that my day and night or your day and night?"

He shook his head and smiled. "Both." He then put his arm around her shoulders in a fatherly fashion. "Buffy, I'll be back in two months with your new watcher. Please do try to stay out of trouble until then."

A feigned look of indignation passed over her face, "Geez, Giles! Non-supportive much?" 

"Right," he said with a smile, "and do keep me informed about Dawn. If anything happens, even the slightest thing, I want you to call me."

"Aye, aye Captain," she said giving him a salute.

Giles rolled his eyes in response. Looking at his watch he realized that it had gotten much later than he had thought. "Tara, Willow," he called, "time to go."

Willow nodded at Giles and gave Xander and Buffy one last big hug. "Bye guys! Come visit soon," Willow said as she took Tara's hand and followed Giles down the hall to their departure gate.

"We will," Dawn called after them as she and the others watched the threesome turn the corner and disappear out of sight.

* * *

The flight to England had been uneventful, even boring. Tara and Willow had managed to sleep most of the flight, which gave Giles time to study the notes the Council had faxed him prior to his departure. The prophecy still didn't make much sense to him and he wasn't sure how it involved Dawn, if it involved the girl at all. He would call the Council when he got back to his flat to let them know he was back in town and to see if anything new had developed while he was in the air. As he was deep in thought, the pilot came across the intercom to tell the passengers that they were now on final approach to London's Heathrow Airport. Giles looked out the window and smiled to himself, he was almost home.

It took the three of them a while to collect their luggage and to go through customs. By the time they had gotten to the car, it was almost dark. "You two will be staying at my flat until next week. The coven will be ready for you at that time. In the meantime," Giles added, "you're both on holiday, so relax and enjoy England."

"Giles, that's so cool" Willow squealed. "We're gonna be roomies!"

"Yes. Right," he said with a forced smile. What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

It was past nine when they finally arrived at Giles' flat. He checked his messages and then called the Council for an update. He left a message for his protégé and then helped the girls take their luggage to his guest room. There wasn't much food in the refrigerator so they would have to order take out. He was just too exhausted to take them to a nice restaurant their first night in England. From the looks of things, they were exhausted too. Both girls looked frazzled and jet lagged. "Why don't you two freshen up a bit and then we'll see about getting something to eat."

Willow nodded at him and fell to the bed. "Okie doke, Giles," she said with a yawn.

While he was getting fresh towels out of the closet, there was a knock at the door. Who on earth could that be? He wasn't expecting anyone. Perhaps it was someone from the Council. They were the only ones who knew that he was back in town. He dropped the towels off in the guest room and made his way to the door.

"Rupert! Welcome back," said the visitor as he made his way into Giles' lounge room. So how was good ol' Sunnydale? Does anyone miss" he stopped in mid sentence when he saw the look on Giles' face. "What? What's wrong?"

Giles was staring at the man intently. "You shouldn't have come here," he said gravely.

"Why the bloody hell not?" The man demanded, "I figured I would bring some of the"

"Giles?" Willow called from the guest room.

"Was that who I thought...?" the man asked with wide eyes.

"Yes. You better leave. Now."

"Giles," Willow asked coming around the corner, "Do you have any extraOh my gosh! SPIKE?! Is that you?"

* * *

The tall, brown haired woman walked around her desk and looked at the Asian man in front of her. She didn't like him but they had to work together. Things had been quiet in Los Angeles since Connor had sent Angel to the bottom of the ocean. For three years Wolfram and Hart had tried to turn Angel to their side but in the end it had been the boy that was the true evil. She didn't know where the boy was now but she definitely wanted to thank him for what he had done, getting Angel off their backs. Now that the Angel problem had been taken care of, even if it proved temporary, it was time for them to move on to the next phase of their plans. It was time to open an office in Sunnydale. But first, they had to ensure that a certain Slayer wouldn't get in their way.

"Lilah, you're very fortunate that Holland made copies of the scroll before Angel took it," Gavin said with a smug smile. "Are you sure that this demon will be able to do the ritual successfully?"

"Gavin, do you have such little faith in me?" She asked folding her arms across her chest and goading him with a smile of her own.

He smiled back at her.

"Hey you two," Linwood said from the doorway, "stop trying to seduce each other and let's get to our party."

"Yes, sir," Gavin said as he gave Lilah another smug smile.

They drove to the crypt and walked inside. The ceremony had already started. Lilah shivered as she felt a wave of déjà vu take over. They had been late to the ceremony the first time they did this as well. Definitely not a good sign, if she were superstitious. No matter, there'd be no Angel to try and stop things this time.

The five vampires that had been chained to the box were already dust. The moment of resurrection was close at hand; Lilah could feel it in the air. After their work was done, she would have to visit Wesley again to relieve some of the tension that was building up in her. Why did evil ceremonies always make her so hot and bothered?

"Arise! Arise! Arise!" the demon demanded.

Suddenly the room became a vortex and the dust from the five vampires was sucked into the box. The three Wolfram and Hart associates hugged the wall and shaded their eyes as the ring of light exploded outward from the box. Then everything was quiet. Lilah moved before Gavin could stand up. She had been through this before so it gave her the edge. Slowly she made her way to the box. Inside was a scared, naked man.

"Hello," she said to him as if she were speaking to a child, "I'm Lilah Morgan. We've sacrificed a great deal to bring you here. Don't be afraid. The confusion will go away soon."

She reached out to touch him but he whimpered and moved to the back of the box away from her hand.

"Shhhhh. It's okay," she cooed to him. "Do you know who you are?"

"Are you sure this worked," Linwood demanded, "He doesn't look menacing."

"It worked," Lilah assured her boss. Turning her attention back to the box, she bent back down and looked inside, "Do you remember your name?"

The still dazed man nodded.

"Good," Lilah said comfortingly, "What is it?"

"Heinrich Joseph Nest," the man said in a whisper.

* * *

"Heya red," Spike said with a smile. "Long time. How ya been?"

"Spike what did you do to your hair?" She asked him in amazement.

Confused, he reached up and touched it, and then he looked over at Giles questioningly. 

"The blonde Spike," Giles said in response. "She wants to know why you're not blonde anymore."

"Oh. That. Well, long story. But, uhm, basically I just wanted a change. Tired of the whole California look, ya know?" He hoped she bought the lie. He could see Rupert cringing out of the corner of his eye.

"And you have curls now," Tara added as she entered the room.

"Hey witch," he said with a grin. No wonder Rupert had tried to get rid of him so quickly. This was bad. Very bad.

"Spike, why are you here?" Willow asked, "You're like the last person I expected to ever see at Giles' door."

"Yes Spike," Giles asked with a glare, "Why are you here?"

"Well, I was in the neighborhood and I thought I would look up a fellow mate from Sunnyhell. Didn't know he had house guests."

"Are you living here now?" Tara asked.

"I guess you could say that," Spike said with a nod.

"I need to call Buffy," Willow exclaimed as she reached for Giles' phone, "she's been worried about you for the last couple of months!"

"She has?" He asked incredulously.

"Willow no," Giles demanded taking the phone from her hand, "Buffy cannot be told that Spike is here."

"Wh-Why not? What's the big?" Willow couldn't understand why Giles would keep something like this from Buffy.

"She just cannot be told. Now can we please leave it at that." It was more of a demand than a request. 

"Giles, I really appreciate everything you're doing for me. But I think you should tell us why you don't want Buffy to know. I mean, we could slip up and accidentally mention it, you know."

Giles knew that he had been defeated. With a sigh he took off his glasses and began to clean them. "Very well then. Why don't we all have a seat and I'll make some tea. Spike, why don't you begin?"  


  



	9. House & Home

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating: **PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Buffy and Dawn move back into their home while some of Halfrek's past is revealed  
**Timeframe:** About a month after "Departures & Arrivals" _

  
- 9 -  
House & Home

It was a typical, gorgeous summer morning in Sunnydale as Buffy and Dawn moved the last of their things back to the house. Buffy was happy that the work on the house was finally finished. Xander and his crew had done a great job rebuilding the front of the house but now with that work done, her and Dawn had a great deal more to do - inside. Fresh coats of paint needed to be applied to the whole house and in some cases, especially at the front, it needed to be painted for the first time. Wallpaper, curtains, carpeting, you name it, they needed it. Not to mention the fact that they didn't have much in the way of furniture at the moment either. It had all pretty much been destroyed when Warren had attacked them. From the outside, the house looked inviting and beautiful. From the inside, well, that was a completely different story.

Buffy made her way back into the house with her last box. She hadn't been able to salvage a whole lot from her bedroom after the attack but she was able to save a few things. She had been devastated that her room had been destroyed. But she wasn't distressed about losing the material things, she could always buy another bed or another lamp and even more clothing, but she couldn't replace the memories that had been lost beneath the rubble. She had tried though. But most of the pictures of her and her friends had been destroyed beyond recognition. Most of her diaries were gone as well. And the picture of her mom, the one picture in the entire world that she loved the most, was gone. That hurt the most. Now as she walked up the stairs and down the hallway into her newly remodeled room, she couldn't help but think about her mom and how much she would have liked the new changes.

Buffy had asked Xander to try to keep the house repairs as close to the original house plans as possible. But there had been some problems so things had to be changed up a bit. Why did there always have to be difficulties? Couldn't things just be easy for once? Of course, that would mean life would be boring which didn't seem like such a bad thing to her. She sighed and dropped the box onto her bedroom floor. Her bedroom furniture was on back order but the store had promised it would be ready for delivery by the end of today. The living room furniture was due to arrive any minute as well as the dining room furniture. Her and Dawn had felt like two kids at Christmas when they had gone shopping for the new furnishings. It was nice being able to buy things without having to worry too much about money. The expense account that the Council had set up for her paid for everything that pertained to the house. She couldn't thank Giles enough for getting the Council to agree to all of that. Where would she be without him looking out for her?

She opened the box and started to unpack the contents. It was mostly clothing and a few personal items. She went over to her new walk-in closet to hang up the clothes. The closet was one of the new perks that came with the rebuild. It was huge. It had to be to be able to house all of her clothes and shoes. And now that she had some money coming in, she intended to fill every part of her dream closet. A knock at her room door brought her out of her thoughts. "Come in," she said as she walked back over to the box.

"Buffy," Dawn said kind of quietly, "you left this box downstairs. I thought maybe you might want to keep it up here."

Buffy looked over at her sister. She immediately recognized the box that Dawn had brought up to her. Her sister was right, she hadn't meant to leave it downstairs. She went over and took the box out of Dawn's hands. "Thanks," she said with a small smile.

"Well, I'm just gonna go make sure I've got everything out of Xander's car. And the furniture should be here soon. Do you need anything while I'm downstairs?"

Buffy stood staring at the box in her hands.

"Buffy?"

"Huh? Oh. No. I'm good, thanks." She tried to give Dawn a reassuring smile but she wasn't sure that it worked.

Dawn backed out of her sister's room trying to understand Buffy's reaction. She figured that Buffy would just throw the box down on the floor and continue with unpacking everything else. But now Buffy just stood in the middle of her room, box in hand, staring at it like it held some magical answer to questions she didn't even want to think about, let alone ask. Then it suddenly came to Dawn's mind why her sister was all wigged out. She smiled to herself. She knew what was happening, even if Buffy didn't.

* * *

Over on the other side of town, businesses were already bustling with customers. Anya had opened the store at the usual time and she and Halfrek began their morning routine. Anya watched as her friend silently opened the blinds on the front window. She could tell that the woman was extremely unhappy about being a human. The poor thing was having an even harder time of fitting in than she'd had the first time around. Anya had hoped that by giving Halfrek a job and a place to live, that it would make the ex-demon more comfortable with her situation. It hadn't.

"Hali," Anya smiled, "why don't you dust the shelves while I look over the books again?"

"Are you serious?" Halfrek asked in disbelief, "That's Dawn's job!"

"I'm very serious. Dawn has the day off. She and Buffy are moving out of Xander's."

"Well you must be very happy about that," Halfrek said with a grin.

"Yes. It's a good thing. Now I can have Xander all to myself when I go to visit." In the month since she had become human again, her and Xander had started dating. She refused to just pick up where they had left off. She wasn't the same person he had left at the altar almost half a year ago. And she certainly wasn't the same person that had brought him home from the hospital. She was going to make him work for the relationship this time around. He had to prove to her that he was worthy of her love and of having sex with her. So far, things were going just to her liking.

Halfrek studied her friend closely. She had no idea why Anyanka was so fixated on this lowly human. Afterall, the man wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer and he didn't even have a good job. He was in construction! That certainly wasn't going to make him rich. She walked over to the counter and picked up the feather duster that Dawn had left there the day before.

Anya smiled brightly at her friend, "That's the spirit!"

Halfrek rolled her eyes and walked to the front of the store to start with the shelves there. Being a human was horrible. Now she was forced to do manual labor. She even had to ride the bus! She could just hear the laughter coming from the other vengeance demons when D'Hoffryn told them she was dusting shelves in a shop. She'd do anything right now to change this situation. Maybe there was a spell?

"Anyanka?" Halfrek asked.

"Yes Hali?"

"I was wondering. When you were turned human the first time, did you try to find a spell to change back?"

Anya thought back to the time when she had tried to use Willow to get her necklace back and how angry she had been at the girl when it hadn't worked. "Yes Hali. I did try to do a spell. But it didn't work. It took me a long time to accept the fact that I was stuck here."

"How long?" The ex-demon inquired.

"Oh at least a few months. Then I finally asked Xander to go to the Prom with me. I think that's when I knew that I was going to be here for the duration."

Halfrek thought about what her friend had just said. So there was a spell, or something, that she could at least try. Maybe Anyanka hadn't done it right. She shook her head at that thought. Anyanka could perform spells with the best of them. She sighed. If Anyanka couldn't do it, there was no way she was going to be able to do it either. The thought depressed her. It had been over a hundred years since she had been human and even when she had been human, she had been unhappy.

She always figured that her unhappiness was due to the era that she had lived in, 19th Century Victorian England. Everything had been so stuffy and dull then. It had been such a different place than today's world. Women of her class weren't permitted to do anything except sit around and look beautiful for their men. The high society parties that her father had forced her to attend were boring, as were the men that he had tried to marry her off to. She hated her father for that. She had wanted to control her own life, marry a man that she loved and who respected her but she wasn't permitted. Her father had made every huge decision for her. Why? Because, that's how things were done in merry old England in the 19th Century.

There had been a man in her life once that she thought would respect her and love her until the end of time. But he had disappeared. Actually, she had pushed him away and then he had disappeared. She had told the young man that he was beneath her so that he would hate her. And from the look in his eyes after she had said it, she knew she had succeeded. She'd had to say those hurtful things. Her father had arranged her marriage to a son of one of his business partners. She had been devastated when her father told of her of the news because she had been falling in love with the young poet. He had been so handsome but very bookish. She laughed to herself when she thought of the poetry he had written for her. It had been god-awful poetry. Outwardly, she had ridiculed him with the others at the party that night but inwardly, she was touched that someone was moved to write poetry about her.

As she slowly continued to dust the shelves, she was struck by how much she still cared for the man. Even after all of this time. She looked at herself in the mirror she was currently dusting and saw that she had been crying. She hadn't realized it. Suddenly, she realized that she had been given a second chance to do things the way she had wanted to the first time. She was in control of her destiny now. Not her father. Turning to Anya she said, "AnyankaI mean Anya, I've decided that I want to be called by my human name."

Anya was thrilled. This meant that Halfrek was starting to accept her situation. "That's great Hali," she said with a smile. Then she realized that she didn't know her friend's human name. "Hali? What was your human name?"

Halfrek smiled brightly, "It was Cecily. Please call me Cecily."

* * *

"Buff," Xander said exasperated, "maybe you should have wallpapered before you had the furniture delivered." He was fighting with the latest gooey sheet while Buffy and Dawn were trying to set up the room.

Buffy looked at her friend apologetically. "Yeah. Guess you're right. Okay Dawn. Change in plans. Let's help Xander with the wallpaper and then we'll make the living room livable."

Dawn's eyes widened. Had her sister forgotten? "Buffy," she started, "I can't get all yucky and sticky! I have a date with Steven tonight!"

"Oh. Yeah. But that's not for another three hours missy. You can help with the wallpaper and then shower."

"But Buffy! What if I can't get the stuff out of my hair?"

"Don't but Buffy me. This is your house too. A little stickiness never hurt anybody." Suddenly she realized how that had sounded. "But not that kind of stickiness. Cause that's bad. And, just wrong."

"Whatever. Fine. I'll go put a scarf on my hair and then I'll come back down to help. Okay?"

Buffy looked over at Xander who was still losing his battle with the wallpaper. He gave her a half smile and shrugged. "Okay. But don't take too long. The faster we get this done, the more time you'll have to get ready for your date."

After her sister bounded up the steps to her room, Buffy turned to help Xander with the wallpaper. "Tell me again why I chose to go with full sheets of wallpaper instead of just painting and doing a border?"

"Uhm. Because," he said in a mocking voice, "I want it to look the same way as when mom was here."

"Yeah, yeah. I should have my head examined. Next time, I'm going to do it the Buffy Summers' way."

"Buffy, nothing against you, but, I hope there is never a next time."

She laughed when he said that. That was the first real laugh she'd had since, well, since before Giles had told her she was getting a new watcher.

"Okay. I'm back. Let's whip this living room into shape," Dawn said giving her sister a double thumbs up.

Buffy and Xander both rolled their eyes at the younger Summers as she grinned at them.

"I'm serious. I bet we can get this done in no time!"

"Keep dreaming little sister," Buffy said as she handed Dawn a paste brush and pointed her towards the wallpaper, "Now goo."

* * *

Buffy stepped into the middle of the room and admired their work. Dawn had been right, once the three of them had started working together; they had finished the wallpapering in no time. She went over to Xander who was also admiring their handy-work and put her arm around him. "Thanks Xan," she said giving him a squeeze, "We couldn't have done any of this without you. The place looks great."

"Anytime Buff. We can do the dining room tomorrow and then your bedroom the next day. Now that we sorta know what we're doing, it should take even less time."

Buffy nodded. "Hey. How 'bout we order us up some pizza? That way you can be here when Steven arrives. You can be the menacing man of the house tonight."

"Sounds good. I'll just give Anya a call and let her know that I'm still over here. Just in case she's wondering." He felt so whipped. He could see by the look on Buffy's face that she thought so too. "I know. I know. I'm love's bitch. What can I say?"

"Just say that you're going to work it out with her and that everything's going to be okay."

"I'm gonna try. I've been such a jerk."

"Yeah, you have," Buffy nodded in agreement.

"Hey. You're supposed to stick up for me," he said feigning being hurt.

"I only stick up for you when you're not being an idiot," she said with a smile.

"Have you heard from Willow or Tara lately?" Xander asked trying to change the subject.

Buffy shook her head. "I haven't heard from either one of them in almost two weeks. I think we got a postcard today but Dawn grabbed the mail before I could see it. Willow sounded kinda strange the last time I talked to her. I hope everything's okay."

"I'm sure everything is fine, Buff. They're probably just getting used to their new surroundings. Probably a bit overwhelmed."

"Yeah. I'm sure you're right."

Just then the doorbell rang. They heard a screech from upstairs. "Tell him I'll be down in a few minutes. I'm not ready yet!"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Mind doing the honors, Xander?"

"Not at all." He put on his best menacing face and opened the door.  


  



	10. Summers Blues

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Buffy tries to sort out her feelings as Dawn and Steven get closer; Tara and Willow adjust to their new life in England  
**Timeframe:** A few hours after "House & Home" _

  
- 10 -  
Summers Blues

Buffy looked up at the stars as she sat by her mother's headstone. She often visited her mother's grave whenever she was feeling down. Tonight was one of those nights. Xander had left her place after dinner and she had wandered around the big, empty house by herself. She felt so alone. Dawn was out on a date with a boy Buffy wasn't sure she approved of yet and Tara and Willow were in England, half a world away. She had done a half-hearted patrol of the cemeteries in the area and then found herself at her mom's grave. She watched as a shooting star crossed the sky in front of her. Too bad that the wish she just made wouldn't come true. They never did.

Patrolling had been boring this evening. Totally uneventful. She had taken notice that for that last month or so, the vampiric activity in the area had been way down. She wasn't sure if that meant anything significant since it did happen from time to time. Laughing to herself, she said to the air around her, "Instead of just enjoying the quiet, I'm sitting here worrying about it." She moved to the front of the headstone and looked at it. Slowly she traced the lettering on the smooth marble. She couldn't believe that it was over a year since her mother had died. So much had happened in that time that she felt like it had been two lifetimes. Oh. Yeah. It had been for her.

"Mom so much has happened since I came back here. I had a hard time dealing with being alive again. I pushed Dawn away. I slept with Spike. And most of our house was destroyed when Warren decided to go big bad on us." She sighed and leaned her head against the marble stone. Why was she sitting here doing this? It wasn't like her mom could hear her.

"I miss you so much mom," she whispered. "You always knew what to do." 

Suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder. She spun around to face whatever it was that was disturbing her time with her mother. "Dawn, what are you doing here?" She demanded.

"Buffy chill. I just wanted to stop by to talk to mom about my date with Steven."

She had turned around to wipe the tears from her eyes before Dawn could see them. "Oh. Sorry. It's just I wasn't expecting anyone and I didn't hear you come up behind me."

"It's okay. I should have cleared my throat or something first. Come on," Dawn said extending her hand to her sister, "let's go home and have some ice cream."

"Good idea," Buffy said still trying to compose herself.

Neither of them noticed the boy watching them from shadows.

* * *

Back at home, the two girls shared the carton of ice cream. They didn't even bother with bowls, each had just grabbed a spoon. 

"So how come you were out at mom's grave?" Dawn asked her sister.

"I dunno," Buffy lied, "I guess I just needed to stop by to let her know the house was done."

"Wanna hear about my date?"

"Sure," Buffy said trying to force a smile and sound like she was interested. She really wasn't interested in anything at the moment, not even the ice cream.

Dawn began to giggle and Buffy eyed her suspiciously. "Don't worry Buffy," Dawn assured her, "he was a perfect gentleman. I'm just giddy cause I had such a good time." The smile on her face proved her point.

"How perfect was perfect?" Buffy inquired with her spoon in mid dip.

"Absolutely perfect," Dawn said grinning. "First we went for pizza and we talked the whole time. He's really smart but kinda sad too. Apparently his father was killed not too long ago and he's been having a hard time with it."

"So him and his mom just moved to Sunnydale then?"

"Yeah. He said his mom just wanted to get away from Los Angeles. Too many bad memories."

"That's understandable. So what else did you two do tonight?" Buffy asked with a stern look.

"After pizza we went to the movies. He didn't even try to put his arm around me or anything," she said with a smile, then added with a frown, "Is that good or bad?"

"Very good. Otherwise I'd have to hurt him."

"Yeah. Yeah. I think Xander scared him enough at the door tonight."

"Exactly. And Steven behaved. I call that a good thing."

"Whatever," Dawn said rolling her eyes at her sister. "He wants to go out again. I do too. I really like him a lot Buffy."

"Just be careful," Buffy warned as she started to clean up their ice cream mess. "And no parking!"

"Buffy! He doesn't even have a car!"

Buffy looked at her sister and gave her a smile that said, "Good."

"Whatever. I'm gonna go to bed. Are you gonna sleep on the couch tonight since your bed's not here yet?"

"Nah. Xander brought over his air mattress. I'm gonna sleep on that in my room."

"Okay. Try to get some sleep tonight. I'll see you in the morning. More of the same," she asked referring to painting and wallpapering.

"Yep. Lots to do so you better go get your beauty rest."

She skipped over to her sister and gave her a peck on the cheek, "'night!"

"Goodnight date girl."

* * *

The sun was shining in Devon as Willow and Tara got ready to start another day with the coven. In just the short time that they had been there, they had learned so much about their magic, and where it came from...The leader of the coven had decided that it was best to start with the basics even though both girls already had a firm grasp on them. The thought was, that in order to understand where Willow had gone wrong, she had to understand where she came from. That kinda made sense to Willow. However, she was really bored with everything right now but didn't want to show it. Tara didn't seem to mind going back to basics at all. Then again, Tara was a pretty much a go-with-the-flow kinda gal. Willow sighed. She wished she had as much confidence as Tara did.

"Willow," Tara asked tilting her head to the side to study her lover, "are you okay? You look tired and a little upset."

Willow looked up from putting on her shoes. How did Tara always seem to know when something bothered her? Was it always that obvious? "I've been thinking," she started hesitantly, "I feel really horrible about keeping this huge secret from Buffy. I mean, she's gonna be really mad at us when she finds out we knew."

Tara walked over to Willow and sat down next to her. "I know sweetie, but Giles and Spike made us both promise that we wouldn't say anything. It's for the best. It took a lot for Spike to tell us everything so we need to respect his privacy."

"Not when it involves Buffy like this," Willow said almost shouting. "What he didhe can't ever take it back! And now this," she said gesturing with her hands not being able to finish her thought.

"I know. Giles has his reasons too. We're just going to have to trust them on this, Will."

Willow sighed. She knew Tara was right. But it still felt wrong. She hadn't called Buffy in weeks because she was afraid that she would accidentally slip up and let her know about Spike. She hadn't even returned Dawn's phone calls. They would soon have to phone them though, otherwise Buffy would worry that something had happened to them.

"Come on," Tara said with a smile as she lightly tugged on Willow's sleeve, "Time to head to Hogwarts..."

Willow laughed and smiled back at her blonde beauty. She stood up next to Tara and took her hand. As they closed the door and walked away, the phone started ringing.

* * *

Buffy hung up the phone after a few rings. Apparently [comma] no one was home. She looked at her watch and figured that the witches had gotten an early start to their day. She was sure they were busy with potion mixing classes and wand instruction. The thought made her laugh. She should have never watched Harry Potter with Dawn because now she had all kinds of images floating around in her head about what Willow and Tara were learning over there.

Slowly she made her way up the stairs and to her room. She flipped on the overhead light to reveal a somewhat bare room. No posters. No curtains. No nothing. It didn't feel like this space belonged to her anymore. She knew it would take time to make it feel homey again, but she missed having her bed and she missed having her safe haven to come back to. It was a good thing that Xander had brought over his air mattress. She really didn't relish the idea of sleeping on the new pullout sofa downstairs. That was for guests. Besides, she wanted to sleep in her own room on their first night back.

She slipped into her pajamas and went to turn off the light but the box that Dawn had brought up earlier caught her eye. Her feet betrayed what she was thinking as they slowly took her across the room to where she had set it down. Hesitantly she opened the box. There was the slightest odor of leather and smoke. Without thinking, she took a deep breath and savored the smell. She pulled the duster out of the box and clutched it tightly to her chest as she dropped down to the floor. Quietly, she rocked back and forth while she hugged the jacket. He had left her. She had made him leave. She regretted beating him up. She regretted what had happened in the bathroom. She regretted everything bad that had happened between them.

The only thing she didn't regret was letting him become her confidant. She had needed someone who would understand her and he had, more than anyone else. More than Angel ever had. At first, she had used him to feel alive again. Then, something had happened. Something inside of her wanted to be with him, every waking moment. And when Riley had come back with his new wife, she had felt betrayed because she didn't have the same happiness. Didn't she deserve that? Instead, she had a very warped relationship with the scourge of Europe. She had broken up with Spike the night Riley left. Why? Because she didn't love him and it was killing her. That's what she had told him. She had even used his given name, William, to make a point. She had seen the tears form in his eyes. She was always trying to hurt him. Why?

Deep down she knew the answer to that.

* * *

The boy stood outside of the house in the shadows. He could smell the scent of the beast on the tree he was leaning against. Something used to stand here and watch, just like he was doing right now. Anger enveloped him. Had that monster watched her? Had he stood in this same spot? He watched the window as Buffy crossed the room and turned off the light. Angry thoughts swirled through his mind. How could she have loved that thing so freely especially being who she is?

It had been almost a month since he had been following her around daily and then nightly. During the day, she would hang out at the Magic Shop or shop at the mall. He often wondered if she had a job. Most other people her age worked or attended school. Even her sister appeared to be employed. It had taken him several weeks to figure out what was different about Buffy. At first glance, she appeared to be small and weak, a typical blonde California girl. Then one night he had followed her into the cemetery, always careful to keep just out of hearing distance. He didn't understand what someone like her would be doing in a place filled with beasts, certainly she would get herself killed. She didn't seem to be afraid and then he found out why. From out of the shadows, a beast flew at her. He had smelled the thing right before it had attacked her. At first, he thought he was going to have to give himself away to help her but she quickly got up on her feet and with a few punches and kicks she had the creature pinned to the ground. That was when she took a stake out of her pocket and rammed it into the demon's heart.

He had been amazed at how easily she had killed the vampire. He could tell by the way she handled herself that it hadn't been the first time she had done it either. Incredible. She was a warrior like himself. Realizing that made him even angrier with her. Every night she did the same thing and every night he followed her. He studied her every move looking for a flaw. When the time came, he would take advantage of her flaws.

He looked up at the window one last time before he left. The anger on his face was replaced by a smile as he walked down the sidewalk. He would make her pay for loving the beast.  


  



	11. Your Beauty Effulgent

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning: **These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Buffy and Cecily have a chat  
**Timeframe:** 2 weeks after "Summers Blues" _

  
- 11 -  
Your Beauty Effulgent

The Magic Box was bustling with customers. Anya had called everyone in to help her with the annual Midsummer's Day Sale, so between customers and employees it was difficult to maneuver through the store. Buffy could see that the once again former demon was thriving in her element. Anya absolutely beamed as she accepted payment after payment. Buffy was waiting for the girl to do the dance of capitalism right there in front of all of the customers. Sometimes she wished she could have that much enthusiasm and zest for her job. Not that she didn't love being the Chosen One and all, but she envied Anya for being able to have it all.

Lately though, she did feel like she was starting to have it all. She was getting paid for her slaying abilities. Her sister was behaving and they were growing closer. The house was finally looking like a home again since her and Dawn had put the finishing touches on the place last night. And she finally heard from Willow and Tara last night as well. Apparently, the Coven kept the two Wiccans busy day and night. She was happy that Willow was coming to terms with her powers but there was just something about Willow's tone that had bothered Buffy. The girl hadn't completely seemed like herself but she had assured Buffy that everything was fine. Buffy was positive that if there really was something wrong, Willow would eventually tell her.

"Buffy," Anya called from behind the register, "could you show Cecily where the extra eye of newt is?"

Buffy tilted her head and gave Anya a curious look. Who in the world was Anya talking about? Had she hired someone new and hadn't told them? Buffy did a quick visual sweep of the shopAnya, Dawn, Xander and Halfrek. Nope. She knew everyone.

"Buffy, eye of newt, Cecily. Hop to it we have paying customers!"

"Anya, I'm not quite sure who you're"

"She's referring to me," Halfrek said coming towards the Slayer.

"You?" Buffy questioned.

"Yes, I decided that since I'm going to be human again, I want to go by my human name. Cecily."

Cecily. Buffy rolled the name around in her head. It had a familiar ring to it. She just couldn't place it at the moment. Eventually it would come to her. "Okay Cecily, let's go round up some eye of newt," she said nodding and heading towards the basement door.

* * *

"I appreciate your help Buffy," Cecily said as they descended the stairs into the darkness, "I know you don't like me much because of Dawn's wish but I'd like to try to put that behind us. Afterall, I'm stuck here now and I want to be on friendly terms with Anya's friends and co-workers."

Buffy gave the dark haired girl a knowing look as she said, "Uh huh. And I'm not living in a world full of demons."

The two stared at one another for a moment. "Okay. You got me," Cecily sighed, "Anya told me to say that. She just wants everyone to get along while we work here. Something about it being better for business"

Buffy shook her head. Leave it to Anya to somehow tie everything back to making a profit. Oh well. "Don't worry Hal-Cecily; I don't hold it against you that you trapped us in my house during my birthday partywith a demon. Really," she said with a shrug, "you were just doing your job, right?"

"Exactly," Cecily said eyeing Buffy suspiciously. Why didn't she think the Slayer was being honest?

"Well, I guess we better look for that eye of newt before Anya has our heads." She began looking around the shelves while Cecily stood to the side. "I wish she would label these jars better," Buffy said absently, "I never could find anything down here, except a psychotic mummy hand during the hour that would never end."

Cecily frowned at Buffy not understanding what the girl was saying.

Buffy waved it off, "Nevermind. I'm not very good with inventory. Anya knows that. Usually Spike is the one" Her voice trailed off. Her mind took her back to the night that she had taken his coat out of the box. She wasn't sure how long she had sat there rocking back and forth. She didn't remember much from that night but she had awakened the next morning to the sound of the alarm and Spike's coat wrapped around her body.

Seeing the look on Buffy's face, Cecily realized that there was more to the Buffy and Spike story than Anya had told her. She knew that Anya had been intimate with the vampire one night, out of need. She could understand that. Strange things can happen when you're hurting. She decided to probe Buffy for information on the platinum blonde vampire who looked so familiar to her. "You and Spike were close?" She hesitantly asked.

"No," was Buffy's quick response as she continued to look for the item, "I mean, we were involved at one time. But he's gone now."

"Do you miss him?"

Buffy just looked over at Cecily with wide eyes, "Me? Miss the scourge of Europe? I don't think so."

"You know Buffy," Cecily began, "it's none of my business but speaking from experience"

"You're right," Buffy snapped, "It is none of your business."

"you shouldn't let what other people think affect the way you feel for him," she continued despite the interruption. "I know first hand how it feels to love someone that your friends and family don't approve of."

"What? Is this some kind of bonding moment between us," Buffy asked with a glare still searching for the eye of newt.

"Look, I'm just saying, if you love him then who cares what everyone else thinks? I loved this guy once, back in England"

"You don't sound British," Buffy interrupted again.

"That's because I gave it up when I gave up being human. Anyway, as I was saying, I loved this guy once and my friends and family couldn't stand him. He was really sweet but a horrible poet."

* * *

Back upstairs in the shop the crowd began to thin. Dawn was up front standing around waiting to assist anyone who needed her help when the bells on the door chimed again. She turned to see who had come in. It was Steven. Ever since their first date, he had started to come into the shop for a few minutes each day, just to see her. Through the crowd, he found her. She smiled and slowly made her way over to him.

"Hi," he said as she approached him.

"Hey," Dawn said with a shy smile. Even though they had been dating for over a month, she still found herself so nervous and shy around him. Her palms would get all sweaty and her stomach would do back flips. It was unnerving sometimes.

"I brought you these," he said taking the flowers out from behind his back.

"Thanks," she gasped as she took them from him. They were beautiful. "I'm just gonna go put these in water."

He followed her to counter where she found a vase. While she went to the bathroom to put water in it, he took a seat on the stool.

"Good afternoon, Steven," Anya said cheerily.

He returned her greeting with a nod.

Xander made his way over to the counter and stood next to Anya. "Steven," he said, in an even tone, "What brings you to the Magic Shop today? As if I couldn't guess..." Ever since Giles had left, Xander had tried to act as the young Summers' father figure.

"Hello Mr. Harris," Steven said smiling his best fake smile, "I'm here to see Dawn. Just for a few minutes, if that's okay with you?" He hated acting like a good mannered boy but he would do what needed to be done.

"That's fine Steven," Anya grinned, "but just remember she's working off her debt and we're very busy right now."

"Can you two just back off please?" Dawn asked rolling her eyes at Anya and Xander, "you're embarrassing me!"

Giving Dawn a stern look, Xander put his arm around Anya and guided her over to a group of customers who were looking at the newest display. As Anya and Xander walked away from the two teenagers, Steven asked, "Do you want to go out tonight? We could go for a walk and get ice cream or something."

"Sure," Dawn said giggling. She tried to play it cool but instead she thought she sounded like a babbling idiot.

* * *

"Ah-hah! Here it is," Buffy exclaimed holding the jar of eyeballs up in triumph. Now she wanted to get back upstairs and away from this woman as fast as possible. "Cecily, I really appreciate what you're trying to say here but guess what? I really don't care what" a chill went down her spine as she realized what the woman had said, "wait, did you say he was a horrible poet?"

"The worst," Cecily said laughing, "Who uses the word effulgent in a poem?"

"Good question," Buffy said in an almost whisper. Things were starting to click in her head. "What ever happened to him? Did you two get married?"

"Heavens no! My father had other ideas. As for poor William, I have no idea what happened to him. He disappeared the night that I told him he was beneath me"

The last jar, containing eye of newt, crashed to the floor. Glass, liquid and eyeballs went everywhere.

"Buffy," Cecily cried, "are you okay? You look pale!"

"I-I'm fine," she said quickly trying to recover from the shock. "My hands, it just slipped. I think the jar was wet. I don't feel well." She turned and ran up the steps, never stopping until she was well away from the Magic Box. Only then did she bring herself to a halt. Tears threatened her dazed eyes.

* * *

What was that all about," Anya asked as they watched Buffy run out of the shop. "And where is that eye of newt that I sent her and Cecily to look for? She just can't leave. We have customers who are paying money. Xander! You have to go after her!"

"No," Dawn said looking at Anya, "I'll go." Then she turned to Steven and asked, "I'll see you tonight okay?"

He nodded back at her and got up to follow her out. "I'll help you look for your sister first if you want."

"No," she responded, "I'll be okay. See you tonight." They both left the shop.

Cecily emerged from the basement bewildered at what had just transpired. "Anya, you're going to have to order more eye of newt."

"What do you mean order more? According to the records, there's one more jar down thereand what's wrong with Buffy?" 

"Was," Cecily corrected.

"Was? What do you mean was?" The former demon demanded. 

"It slipped out of Buffy's hands," Cecily explained, "We were talking and then all of a sudden the jar slipped and fell. She didn't look well. She said she felt ill."

Anya just stared at her friend. "You mean to tell me Buffy broke the last jar?" Anya asked incredulously. "She's going to have to pay for that. It's not cheap, you know."

"Way to go with the concern Anya," Xander stated.

"What? Well it is expensive," Anya exclaimed.

Xander sighed heavily and walked back over to the customer he had been assisting.

* * *

"Buffy," Dawn gasped as she finally caught up with her sister in front of their house. She put her hand on Buffy's shoulder and turned her around. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Buffy stood on the sidewalk just staring at Dawn blankly. Why hadn't she put two and two together before? She should have known. Wait. Why should she care? It's not like Spike belonged to her.

"Buffy," Dawn said softly, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"What do you mean nothing? You flew out of the Magic Box looking like you had seen a ghost."

"I don't feel well. That's all."

"You're an awful liar Buffy. Come on, what happened?"

Buffy looked at her sister. She knew there was no getting around it. Dawn would pester her until she told her what was wrong. She sighed and lowered her head. She felt silly for even feeling this way. So what if Cecily had been the one Spike had loved the night he died. "Dawn," she finally started as she lifted her head to look at her sister, "do you remember when I asked Spike to tell me about how he killed those other slayers?"

Dawn nodded with a frown, not knowing exactly where this was going.

"Well he did tell me but he also told me how he became a vampire."

"Buffy what does this have to do with anything?"

"Everything," Buffy said, "just listen. The night Drusilla turned him; he'd been at a party. He had written poetry for a woman he was in love with, but she had ridiculed him in front of everyone."

"And," Dawn asked gesturing with her hands.

"Andher name was Cecily." Buffy stood there waiting for Dawn to make the connection.

"Just like Halfrek's human name." Suddenly Dawn looked at Buffy with wide eyes. "You don't think it's that Cecily do you? I mean, what are the odds? She's not even British."

"I thought that too. But I'm positive it's her Dawn."

"How?"

"She said something. A phrase. The same phrase that I used on Spike after he tried to kiss me that night."

"Buffy you're not making any sense."

"Dawn, the woman that Spike was in love with, she blew him off. Told him that he was beneath herCecily used those same words to the man that she was in love with. A really bad poet that her friends and family didn't approve of. Does this man sound familiar to you?"

"Spike," Dawn whispered in awe.  


  



	12. Denial

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Dawn's latest power surfaces as Buffy refuses to admit her feelings for Spike  
**Timeframe:** Immediately following "Your Beauty Effulgent" _

  
- 12 -  
Denial

"Maybe she knows where Spike is," Dawn said the excitement building in her voice, "we should go ask her right now!" The teenager turned to make her way back to the Magic Shop.

"No," Buffy exclaimed as she put her hand on her sister's shoulder and spun her around, "She doesn't know where he is; and besides, she has no idea that Spike is William." She was certain that Cecily was the woman that Spike loved before he died. All of the evidence pointed to that conclusion. How would Spike react to this news, if he ever decided to come back? She tried to push the thought from her mind.

Dawn stared at her sister's face. She could tell that Buffy was emotionally overwhelmed by the revelation. "Are you afraid that if Spike comes back and finds out that Halfrek is Cecily, he'll instantly forget about you and want her back?"

Buffy was shocked by her sister's bluntness. She took a step back and glared at her. "I don't care what Spike does!"

"Yes you do," Dawn whispered back to her. "Otherwise you wouldn't be taking his coat out of the box and sleeping in it every night."

"I don't do that!"

"Yes you do Buffy, I've seen it. Why can't you just admit to yourself that you're in love with him?"

"I'm not having this conversation with you," Buffy growled as she stomped up the steps and into the house.

* * *

Lilah hesitated as she neared the semi-open office door. The nameplate on the door read Gavin Park. Should she knock? No. That would mean she had respect for this man. Instead, she opened the door wider and sauntered into the well-lighted corner office. The senior partners had chosen Gavin to head up the Sunnydale office. To say she was angry was an understatement. She knew that he had somehow weaseled his way into this coveted assignment on the Hellmouth. "Congratulations Gavin," she said as she leaned against the wall with a smile.

"Come now," he grinned, "I know you don't really mean that." He continued to pack up his desk savoring the look of disdain on Lilah's face.

"No. Really Gavin," she purred, "Great job. You must have really impressed the senior partners. What did you do? Shine their shoes? Knit them sweaters?" She crossed her arms against her chest and smirked at him.

Gavin looked up from packing to return her smirk. He knew that his promotion was eating her up inside and he wanted to enjoy every second of it. "Lilah you poor unfortunate soulwhatever will you do without my help?"

She knew he was goading her. He was pushing all of the right buttons. She wanted to reach out and throttle him; instead, she smiled sweetly and strolled over to his desk. "You know what Gavin? You can be as smug as you want. But I know, in the end, you'll fail and I'll have to come pick up the pieces."

The smug smile he had on his lips faded as he clenched his jaw, making his cheekbones more pronounced. He came around his desk and stood in front of her. "And what makes you think I'll fail?" He demanded staring at her intently.

"Because Gavin," she cooed, "you don't have what it takes to handle the slayer, the boy or the other one."

"Oh. And you do?"

She smiled coyly at him and batted her eyelashes.

"Get over yourself Lilah. My name is not Lindsey McDonald. Now if you'll excuse me, I do have a lot of packing to do." With that, he turned his back to her, picked up an empty box and proceeded to the corner bookcase to empty it.

"Bastard," she whispered to herself as she left the office. She'd show him. She'd show them all what a huge mistake they'd made. She made her way to her office and picked up the phone.

"Hello," the decidedly British voice on the other end of the line said.

"It's me. Listen. I don't have a lot of time to explain. I need you to meet me down at the bar tonight."

"What makes you think I'd meet you anywhere?"

"Because. It involves Connorand Buffy."

There was a slight pause and then a deep breath, "What time?"

* * *

Dawn followed Buffy into the house. There was no way she was going to let her sister just stomp off without facing her feelings. She felt that it was about time Buffy came to grips with the truth and she was going to be just the person to help her with that. Buffy was already in the kitchen pulling out the ice cream when Dawn caught up with her. "Buffy what are you doing?"

"I'm eating ice cream," Buffy said nonchalantly, "what does it look like I'm doing?"

"Hiding," Dawn said staring at her sister.

"What?" Buffy demanded as she speared the ice cream with her spoon.

"Buffy you're hiding from your feelings for Spike. Just admit it already."

"Dawn you've finally gone insane. I do not have any feelings for Spike whatsoever so just get off this train before I totally derail you."

"I'm not going anywhere Buffy. How long are you going to do this to yourself? How long are you going to drive me crazy? Why do you think Spike left to begin with, huh?"

She could feel the anger welling up inside of her. "This conversation is over," she said trying to keep her emotions in check. "I think you better get back to the Magic Box before Anya sends out the cavalry." She picked up the ice cream and started for the living room.

"Like I saidI'm not going anywhere," Dawn insisted as she reached out and turned her sister around to face her. "We're going to talk about Spike, whether you like it or"

Suddenly, the room darkened and the air next to Buffy and Dawn began to hum and ripple. The two girls took a step back and shielded themselves with their arms. Electricity flowed around the ripple as it grew in size.

"What's happening," Buffy yelled above the increased humming sound.

"I don't know," Dawn screamed back with widening eyes. "Oh my god! Buffy! I think it's a portal!"

Hesitantly Buffy moved from in front of the portal to behind it. She could see her sister clearly, as if there was nothing there. She reached out to touch the air but it didn't feel any differently from the air to her left or right. She saw Dawn reach out to do the same from the front. "Dawn! No!"

Dawn pulled her hand back with a jerk at the sound of Buffy's voice. Her sister was back at her side now. "W-What do you think it is?" She asked.

"I think it's like you said, a portal."

"Duh, Buffy...But what's on the other side?"

"I'm not sure, but it looks like a dorm room or something." Once again, Buffy reached out to touch the air. It hummed and felt warm to the touch. She looked over at her sister.

"We should see where it goes!"

"Absolutely not," Buffy shot back at her. "We have no idea where this goes. It could go to a different world or something."

Dawn walked over to the portal and put her hand through.

"Dawn," Buffy shouted. But it was too late. Dawn had walked through.

* * *

Buffy's watcher-to-be tried desperately to walk without falling. He was extremely pissed. The boys had taken him down to the pub for his last night in London and proceeded to make him drink pint after pint. "Bloody hell!" He yelped; as he tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and went sprawling to the ground. He laid there for a few seconds hoping that the world would stop spinning. He heard laughter coming from somewhere around him. He managed to pull himself up to his knees to look around. Over to his left Garrick and Geoffrey were grinning madly at him.

"Mate," Geoffrey laughed, "you're so bloody pissed, you're never going to make your flight tomorrow."

"Sod off," he said to his friend. This brought a whole new round of guffaws from the other two.

Garrick walked over to him and helped pull him to his feet. "You know we're really going to miss having you around, mate."

"Right," Geoffrey added, "who else is going to get us into scrums over football?"

"Ha, bloody ha," he said still swaying on his feet as they started walking again. "I'll have you know that Manchester United will prevail!"

"Right, mate," Garrick teased, "and I'm Buffy Summers."

"What did you say?" The man asked in a much more sober tone now.

"He said that there's no way Manchester United could dance their way out of a paper sack."

He eyed Garrick suspiciously. "He did not. He said something about Buffy."

"Oh no," Geoffrey sighed, "Now you've done it. Garrick you shouldn't have brought up her name. Now he's going to start blubbering again."

"Sorry Geoff," Garrick said wincing, "I just thought I'd tease the ponce a bit is all."

"Right then. Help me get him up the stairs before the git starts singing again."

Too late, they thought. The man had already started humming a catchy little ditty. 

* * *

"Dawn," Buffy shouted, "Get back here now!"

"Buffy this is so cool," Dawn exclaimed as she bounced on the bed and looked around the room, "This definitely isn't Sunnydale."

"Don't make me come in there and drag you out!"

"Sheesh. Non-adventurous much." She got up and walked around the room trying to understand her surroundings. As she looked out the window, she could see that it was nighttime. The room was similar to that of a dorm room. It had a bed, a dresser, a closet, and lots of books. There were also a couple of suitcases sitting by the door. "I think it's some type of university or something," she explained as she looked back through the portal at Buffy.

"Dawn, I really think"

"Buffy," Dawn squealed, "there's a picture of you on the desk, and there's some type of journal here." Just then, she heard voices coming closer to the door.

"Dawn someone's coming! Get back here now!"

Dawn looked around to see if she could grab something to prove to herself that this had really happened. She looked down at the book on the desk. "A Watcher's Guide to Slayingwhat the?" 

The lock on the door tumbled over and the doorknob began to turn. Quickly she picked up the book and dove through the portal. As soon as she crossed the threshold back into Sunnydale, the portal closed. Stunned, she pulled herself to her feet and stared at her sister.  


  



	13. Portals & Keys

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Things are not always as they seem as Dawn and Buffy reveal the teen's new power to Giles  
**Timeframe: **Immediately following "Denial" _

  
- 13 -  
Portals & Keys

"Bloody hell!" The man shouted, as he tripped over the suitcases he had in front of his door. "Who moved the bed? And why am I seeing bright white lights in my room?" Right after they had entered the room, there was a flash of light, and then nothing... 

Garrick laughed heartily as he helped his friend to his feet. "No one moved the soddin' bed mate, you just can't hold your liquor."

"As for the light," Geoff added, "you're probably seeing stars from tripping over your bags."

"I am not. And I can hold my liquor I'll have you know. I can drink any demon or human under the table."

"Right," Garrick said as he helped his friend onto his bed.

"I can you know," the man slurred as his head hit the pillow.

Geoffrey and Garrick exchanged looks as their friend immediately passed out.

Garrick sighed as he turned to walk out of the room. Suddenly his eyes caught something shinny lying on the floor. Bending over to pick it up he saw that it was a necklace, a woman's necklace. "Fancy that," he almost whispered as Geoffrey walked over to him.

"What did you find, Gar?"

He started laughing as he handed the necklace to his friend. "Bloke's been getting lucky and holding out on us."

Geoffrey eyed the necklace. "Who in blazes is Dawn?"

"I'm not sure; but I don't think our friend here is going to tell us anytime soon." They both looked over at the snoring man and smiled. Geoffrey set the necklace down on the desk and the two friends left the room.

* * *

Both Summers girls stared at each other without speaking. Did they really just see a portal in the middle of their kitchen? Buffy picked up the ice cream container that she had dropped to the floor moments before and made her way over to the sink. She stood with her back to Dawn and looked out the window. What just happened? Why did a portal appear here? Slowly she turned around to face her sister. By that time Dawn had snapped out of her trance-like state and moved to the stool at the island.

"Buffy," Dawn asked her eyes wide with wonder, "Do you think I did that?"

"What?" Buffy demanded with a frown.

"It was a portal. I'm a key. Maybe I did that."

"Dawn, you're not a key anymore. There's no way"

"Buffy we have no idea what I'm capable of anymore."

Just then the phone rang. Buffy walked over to answer it as Dawn placed the book she had taken on the counter. "Hello?"

"Buffy, thank goodness I caught you there."

"Giles? Isn't it like bedtime for you or something over there?"

"Not quite. Buffy. The reason I'm calling, it's very important."

"Take a deep breath Giles and just say it."

"Buffy, you need to watch Dawn."

Buffy looked at her sister who was now engrossed in the book in front of her. "And why's that Giles?"

"We just translated some more of the text. It states that 'The Key, will at its bidding, open doors that have been dormant for a millennia.'"

"Giles can ya un-vague that for me?"

"In short, Dawn is going to be able to open portals to other places as you and I would open or close our front doors."

"Uhm, Giles?"

"Yes?"

"I think she just did that."

"What? Are you quite sure? Tell me everything!"

Buffy proceeded to explain what had just happened in the Summers' kitchen. Answering all of Giles' questions as best she could.

"Buffy," Dawn asked from the stool, "Ask Giles if he's related to a"

"Huh," Buffy asked questioningly.

"Nevermind. Here, give me the phone," Dawn said as she took it out of her sister's hands. "Giles, it's Dawn. Are you related to a William Giles?"

* * *

In Los Angeles, the man known as Heinrich Joseph Nest walked out onto the balcony of the apartment they had rented for him. He looked out over the city of Angels and grinned madly. It felt good to be back from the dead. At first he had been confused but then his memories had slowly returned. Now he knew who he had been and who he was going to be again. True, the pesky soul almost made him feel terrible for his past indiscretions but he was stronger than that.

They had told him about how they had brought Darla back in the same manner and how her soul had driven her insane. The memory of his once favorite minion brought a smile to his face. Then he growled in anger as he thought of her giving birth to Angelus's son, staking herself to save the child. If Angelus weren't already dead, he would have killed him, himself. How fitting that Angelus' own son had sent him to his demise. So much like his mother.

He looked back out over the city sparkling in the sunlight. For now he was human and could walk among them. But soon, very soon, he would be his true self. He had a score to settle in Sunnydale and he was looking forward to it. He closed his eyes and thought back to his last night on earth. A simple girl had killed him. But not this time. This time, he would have the upper hand.

* * *

Half a world away, Giles sat heavily into his armchair. "Excuse me," he asked as his blood suddenly started to run cold. "I don't think I heard you correctly."

"I asked if you knew a William Giles," Dawn said giddily. "I went through the portal and"

"You did what?" Giles demanded standing up from his chair. Buffy had omitted that little tidbit of information.

"I went through the portal," she said hesitantly.

"Dawn you could have been killed. What if the portal had closed? If this happens again you must not go through! Do you understand me?"

"Yes," she said lowering her voice.

"Good. Now. Tell me the rest."

Through the phone he could hear her take a deep breath. He had scared her for now, enough so that she wouldn't repeat her mistake again. "Okay," she continued, "I went through the portal into this room. It looked like a dorm room. Like at a college or something. It all felt real."

"It was real. Please continue." He needed to know how she had come up with that name.

"I was kinda checking things out and I found this book. But, oh! First, I saw this picture of Buffy on the desk."

Again Giles sat down in his armchair with a thud. "Are you quite certain it was Buffy?"

"Yeah. It was a picture that I think I took last spring before sheyou know."

"Right. Tell me about this book." He took his glasses off and began to clean them.

"The book is called 'A Watcher's Guide to Slaying' and on the inside it has the name William Giles. I figured maybe he was related to you or something since it was a Watcher's book."

Giles leaned forward in his chair. He rested his elbows on his knees with one hand holding the receiver and the other pinching the bridge of his nose. This was bad. Very, very bad.

"Giles," Dawn said her voice increasing in volume. "Giles are you still there?"

"Yes. I'm still here Dawn. Sorry. I was just reading something."

"So do you know him?" She persisted.

The girl was just as stubborn as her sister. "He's my nephew." The lie came to him easily. He'd had many years of practice.

"Oh cool Giles. I didn't think you had any family. I mean you never talk about anyone"

"Dawn, I need to go. Please give Buffy my best and tell her I'll call her when we get into town. Goodbye." He hung up the phone quickly and grabbed his jacket. He was out the door before the teenager had even hung up the phone on her end.

* * *

"Geez," Dawn said hanging up the phone. "Rude much."

"What happened?" Buffy asked walking back into the room.

"This William Giles is his nephew."

"Huh," Buffy said perplexed. "He never mentioned having any relatives."

"Yeah," Dawn said shrugging her shoulders, "That's what I was saying when he said he had to go. Something about he'll call you when he gets to town."

While the two girls proceeded to page through the book, they heard a knocking at the door. Dawn got up to go answer it.

"Hey Xander," Dawn greeted, "What's up?"

"What's up she asks. How about is everything okay?" He walked into the foyer and saw Buffy in the kitchen. "Hey Buff," he called to her.

"Oh. Yeah. We're fine," Dawn said nodding her head and smiling, "I got a wicked new power!"

Buffy joined the two standing by the front door. "Calm down key girl," she stated as she looked at a baffled Xander.

"Is this a good power or a I-need-to-be-careful-not-to-get-too-close kind of power?"

Dawn giggled. "It's a really cool power. I can open portals!"

Xander shook his head and looked at Buffy. "And just where do these portals go?"

"Giles said they can go anywhere," the girl said excitedly. "This is so gonna save time walking to school."

"Whoa, back up," Buffy demanded. "There will be no using of this power until we understand it better. Got it? Besides. We don't even know how you did it in the first place."

Dawn's shoulders slumped in defeat. She knew Buffy was right but this was her power. She should be able to use whenever she wanted, not just when it suited her sister. "Fine."

Xander looked at the girl and tried to smooth things over. "Hey Dawnster, when you get a handle on that thing, you and I can go to Hawaii. You know how I hate to fly," he added with a grin as he winked at Buffy.

"Seriously?" Dawn questioned.

"Yep. But for now it's back to the Magic Box for us. You coming back Buffy?"

"Nah. I'm just gonna stay here and veg for a while. I'm not feeling that great."

Her sister glared at her as she followed Xander out the door. "Remember what I said Buffy. Stop denying it."

"Whatever Dawn," she said closing the door behind them. This was just too much to deal with for one day.  


  



	14. Discoveries

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Dawn discovers something about Steven while Giles and Buffy's new watcher discover something about Dawn  
**Timeframe:** Immediately following "Portals & Keys" _

  
- 14 -  
Discoveries

The pounding on the door was getting louder and more intense as the man on the bed tried to remember where he was. He tried to open his eyes but found it too difficult. His mouth was dry and the room was spinning, not to mention that he felt like he had cobwebs for brains. Finally he squinted to look at the clock. "Whoever you are," he yelled, "it's after bleeding midnight. A bloke needs his sleep!"

"Open this door immediately or I'll break it down," the voice on the other side demanded.

"Rupert," the man asked, "is that you?"

"You know bloody well it's me. Now open this door. I've been pounding on it for the last ten minutes."

"Keep your shirt on mate," he said as he stumbled around the room trying to get to the door. There was no way he could walk a straight line at this particular moment. He was still extremely pissed. After several failed attempts at unlocking the door, he finally got his fingers to work. He stepped back into the room as he opened the door to a highly agitated Rupert Giles.

"Dawn was here," Giles said as he barged into the room. He turned around and looked at the disheveled man standing before him, "Are you drunk?"

"I'm not exactly coherent at the moment. I could have sworn you just said that Dawn was here." He was swaying back and forth.

"I did. She was."

"Are you sure?" He asked incredulously.

"I'm quite certain."

"When? I mean, how?"

"Tonight. And she can indeed open portals like the prophecy predicted. Somehow she opened a portal here."

The man sat down hard on his bed. His mind was starting to clear but the room still was still moving. "Let me get this straight," he said blinking hard trying to adjust his eyes to the light Giles had just turned on, "Dawn, Buffy's Dawn, can open portals and she was here? Tonight?"

"Precisely. I talked to Buffy this evening right after a portal had appeared in their kitchen."

The man's eyes widened despite the brightness of the light. "And you're certain this portal opened here? How?"

"I'm not exactly clear on the how but I'm certain it was here. She described this room and the items in it. Additionally," he said looking towards the desk, "she saw a picture of Buffy on your desk."

"Brilliant," the man said hanging his head. He knew he was going to have one massive hangover in the morning.

* * *

After Xander and Dawn had gone back to the Magic Box, Buffy had made herself a sandwich and headed towards the couch. She turned on the TV and flipped through the channels in a daze. Nothing interesting seemed to be on in the afternoons. No wonder she hung out at the Magic Shop all the time. She got up and walked over to the entertainment center to browse the videos. One tape in particular caught her eye. When had Dawn started taping Passions? She shook her head and popped the tape into the VCR.

"Let's see what all the fuss is about," she said yawning. "So this is the infamous Timmy? He doesn't look like a doll. He looks like a real boy," she said to the room with a laugh. "Zombies? Where do they come up with this stuff?" She was starting to understand why Spike liked this show so much. It was twisted. With that thought she closed her eyes and started to drift off into sleep.

* * *

The man continued to hang his head while he massaged his temples. He was still drunk and not even the revelation of Dawn's portal jumping could shake him out of this stupor.

"She took your guide book," Giles said sighing.

"Mine? But it's right here," he started as he slowly got up to look at his desk. He went to reach for it but it wasn't there. He shook his head to clear his mind. It still wasn't there. He looked on the floor and underneath the desk. "Not on my desk." He leaned over and put his hands on the desk for support. He looked over at Giles and stared at him.

"I'm not sure how. But this proves she was here."

"It doesn't prove anything, Rupert. Other than the fact that I can't think straight. Maybe I lent it to one of the blokes down the hall." As he straightened up, he noticed the necklace that Geoffrey had placed on the surface of his desk. Slowly, he picked up the necklace to study it. It was Dawn's. No doubt. "You're right," he said walking over to Giles.

"What changed your mind?" Giles asked perplexed.

"This," the man said as he took Giles' hand and placed Dawn's necklace in it.

Giles looked down at the gold chain in his hand and then looked back over at the man who handed it to him.

* * *

The sun was shining brightly over Buffy's head as she walked through the sand. Holding her hand up to shield her eyes, she squinted to see what, if anything, might be on the horizon. She noticed that she was dressed in a long white flowing tunic with white scarves fluttering in the wind. Her hair was loose around her face. It had grown since Spike had left. He had always loved her long hair, that's why she had chopped it off. To spite him.

She continued walking barefoot in the sand, not really knowing where she was going but knowing she needed to keep moving. She paused when she reached the opening of a cave.

"You don't want to go in there Slayer," a voice said from behind her.

She spun around in slow motion. There, before her, stood Spike. He walked over to her as she stared at him. His blue eyes burned through her. She tried to break away from his gaze but found she couldn't. Her eyes fixed on his body and how tan and fit it looked. He was in his usual pair of faded jeans, no shirt or shoes.

"There's all kinds of beasties in there Slayer. Just waiting to get you," he said concerned.

"I can take care of myself."

"I know you can, but are you ready?" He continued to gaze deeply into her eyes. He slowly lifted his hand and caressed her cheek. 

She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of his touch on her skin. "Where have you been?" She asked in a whisper as she opened her eyes. She noticed that his hair wasn't blonde any longer but a sandy color.

"I've been right here all along. I'll always watch over you, Buffy. I love you."

Before she could tell him how she felt, suddenly Spike disappeared and she was left alone. "Spike? Spike where are you? Please come back." She looked around at the vastness of the desert. Nothing was near her. As she turned around to face the cave, she could see a light emanating from within.

"Hello," she called out as she made her way inside. "Spike?" No one answered her. She continued walking.

"I knew you'd come," a voice said to her from the shadows, "I've been waiting for you."

"Show yourself," she demanded.

"You already know who I am," the voice said, "You just don't want to admit it. Does the thought frighten you?"

"I've died twice. Nothing scares me anymore."

"But you will be scared," he said as he stepped out of the shadows and grabbed her by the shoulders.

She tried to struggle free from his grip but couldn't. He leaned over her shoulder so that she could see his face. Her eyes widened in fear. "You're dead," she managed to finally say.

He smiled at her and grazed her neck with his teeth. "You of all people should know that death can be temporary." He wrapped one strong arm around her body and with his other he pushed her head to the side, exposing her neck. "Any last words," he asked as he sunk his teeth into her jugular and began to savor the taste of her.

* * *

"Buffy! No," the man shouted as he woke up from the nightmare. Giles had finally left him to sleep about an hour before. His head was pounding and his body was shaking. This nightmare meant something, he was sure of it. Without a second thought he retrieved his journal from the desk and started writing furiously, making sure that he included as many details as possible. Once he was satisfied that he had properly recorded everything, he closed the journal and turned out the light. He was hoping that he would be able to fall back to sleep but he found it difficult as he replayed the nightmare over and over in his head.

* * *

When Dawn arrived at home she found Buffy sound asleep on the couch. She walked over to her sister and gently covered her with a blanket. It looked as if Buffy had been crying in her sleep. Dawn was concerned about her. She was convinced that Buffy was going to drive herself insane denying her feelings for Spike. Why is it that people always realize what they have once it's gone?

After showering and dressing in something sensible, she went down to the kitchen to leave Buffy a note. Steven was supposed to pick her up soon so she figured she would wait on the porch. That way they wouldn't disturb Buffy's sleep. She gently closed the front door behind her as she stepped out into the night air. Steven was just rounding the corner and heading towards her house. She sat down on the steps to wait for him.

"Hey," he said with a smile when he reached the steps.

"Hi," she said blushing. Again with the blushing.

"Wanna go get something to eat?" He asked as he took a seat next to her on the steps.

"Surelet's go for a walk first though. I just got home from work, and I'd like a break from people for a little while..." 

"Okay. Come on," he said standing up. He reached out his hand and helped her up. He pulled a little too hard and she almost stumbled on top of him.

"Sorry," she said as he grabbed her to keep her from falling.

"My fault," he whispered as he looked into her eyes.

Their faces were so close Dawn could feel his breath on her cheek. As she was about to say something, he closed the distance and kissed her. She returned the kiss enthusiastically. Her knees started to shake and she thought she was going to sink to the ground. It seemed to last forever. Finally they broke it off so that they could both breathe.

"That was, uhm, really nice," Dawn said breathlessly.

He smiled and took her hand in his. "Let's walk."

* * *

They walked along in a comfortable silence for a while. Dawn was still giddy about the kiss and wanted to make sure she didn't say anything dumb before she was back in control of her brain. He had finally kissed her. Not on her forehead or cheek like he usually did before saying goodnight, but a full kiss on the lips. Her first totally real kiss. It was better than she ever imagined it would be.

Steven looked over at Dawn. She had been silent since they had left her place. He smiled to himself. Obviously, the kiss had been a good thing to do. Things were going very smoothly. Despite the fact that he had intended to use Dawn to get to know Buffy, he enjoyed being around the girl. Unexpectedly, sounds of a struggle came to his ears. He looked around, searching for it.

"What? What's wrong?" Dawn asked as he tightened his grip around her hand.

"I don't know. I thought I heard something."

"I-I don't hear anything," Dawn stammered looking around the darkened street.

"Shhhh," he whispered to her. He closed his eyes and listened intently for the sounds. It was coming towards them at a fast pace. "Run," he shouted to her as he started running.

Dawn was confused but she started running with him. She hadn't heard anything but by the look on his face she knew he was serious. Then she heard it. She looked over her shoulder as they continued to run. A vampire was catching up to them. She knew that they couldn't out run it but she also knew that if she stopped to stake it, she would have to reveal herself to Steven. She wasn't ready to do that yet.

Instead of having to weigh her options and consider the consequences, Steven stopped abruptly and pulled her behind him. "Dawn, stay here and don't move," he commanded.

Dawn watched in awe as Steven started sparring with the vampire. As the vampire lunged at him, he used a roundhouse kick to knock it off its feet. The vampire grabbed Steven's leg and knocked him off balance. He landed face first on the ground but spun around in time to miss the vampire's kick. Steven landed a kick to the vampire's chest, once again knocking him to the ground.

"Steven," Dawn yelled as she pulled the stake out of her jacket, "Catch!"

He caught the stake handily and plunged it into the vampire's chest. It exploded into dust as he looked over at Dawn.

"H-How did you learn to fight like that?" Dawn asked in amazement.

"My father taught me."

"But you're really fast, almost as fast as," her words trailed off.

"As Buffy?" He asked with a grin.  


  



	15. Changes

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** A familiar law firm and Buffy's new watcher arrive in Sunnydale  
**Timeframe:** A few days after "Discoveries" _

  
- 15 -  
Changes

Buffy looked around the Magic Box. Things were quiet. It was late afternoon and she was waiting for Giles to arrive. He had called her yesterday to let her know that he and her new watcher had arrived safely. Giles told her that if she needed him for any reason that she could contact him at the hotel and leave a message. She thought that Giles sounded nervous and was still acting kind of weird, even for Giles. She supposed that he was just concerned about abandoning her to someone else or maybe it had something to do with Dawn's new portal power thing. Buffy was kinda concerned about being handed over to someone from the Council. She asked Giles when she would be meeting the new guy but he had been vague, dancing around the subject as he always did. She could sense that things were about to change and maybe not for the better.

Her thoughts turned to her dream. She was pretty sure that it had been a slayer-type dream. But Spike had been in the dream and he was nowhere to be found at the moment. What did that mean? And she remembered that he looked different. It had been his hair. It wasn't platinum blonde but kinda brownish and curly. Why had he been in her dream? Spike was the least of her concerns, however. The second being from her dream was more important. She closed her eyes and recalled the image of his face. The thought of the Master returning sent chills up and down her spine. There had to be some kind of mistake. The monster was dead. She had made sure of that when she had taken the sledge hammer to his bones. So maybe that meantNo. She refused to even think that Spike could be dead too. Damn these dreams.

She got up from the table and wandered around the shop aimlessly. Waiting. Giles should be here by now. What was keeping him?

"Buffy," Dawn asked from behind the counter, "are you okay?"

Buffy looked over at her sister, "Huh? Yeah. I'm good. Just waiting for Giles." She was surprised that her sister had even noticed. Little Miss In Love had been on cloud nine ever since the other night. All that Buffy had been able to get out of her was that Steven had finally kissed her. But there was something else, something that Dawn wasn't telling her. Buffy could sense it every time that Dawn quickly averted her eyes when Buffy would look at her. Something was definitely up and it better not have to do with sex otherwise she was gonna pack up her sister and send her to some convent or something.

Just then the bell on the door chimed and Giles entered. "I'm terribly sorry that I'm a bit late," he said hesitantly trying not to seem too harried. Buffy stood in front of him with her arms folded across her chest. She raised her eyebrows at him and looked at the clock and then back at him. This wasn't exactly starting out the way he planned.

* * *

Gavin looked around his new office as he sat down in his chair. The room was spacious and lavishly decorated. The senior partners had spared no expense when it came to opening the new branch of Wolfram and Hart. They had renovated a vacant building in downtown Sunnydale in record time, making sure that everything was in place for when Gavin arrived. He walked over to the window and leaned against the wall. He had a perfect view of the Magic Box. This would work out splendidly for him. Now, all he had to do was to get Heinrich settled in and taken care of before the night of the ceremony.

He sauntered over to his desk and pushed the intercom button on his phone. "Ms. Blackwell would you kindly get Ms. Morgan from the Los Angeles office on the phone please."

"Certainly Mr. Park," the female voice responded.

The intercom buzzer sounded, "Mr. Park, Ms. Morgan is on line one."

"Thank you Ms. Blackwell." He pushed the button for line one and spoke in a smug tone, "Lilah, how are you?"

"I'm Fine Gavin. Is there something you wanted because frankly I really don't have the time to play right now," her voice betrayed her irritation at being summoned by his secretary.

"Now, now Lilah," he cooed softly to her. "I was just calling to extend you an invitation to Heinrich's ceremony. Linwood will be driving down tomorrow. I'm sure you could catch a ride with him." He could tell by her silence that he was getting to her. He loved playing this game with her, it was so amusing.

"I'll see what I can do," she said tersely. "I'm working on other things at the moment that are extremely important."

"Suit yourself," he said grinning, "I'll save a place for you at the graveside."

Back in Los Angeles Lilah punched the speaker button to end the conversation. She looked at the man across from her and said, "Everything is set up for the ceremony. Are you sure you want to do this?"

The dark haired man with glasses glared at her. "Do I have a choice?" He asked harshly.

Lilah smiled at him as she crossed her legs and sat back in her chair.

* * *

"Buffy," Giles said soothingly as he put his arm around her shoulders to guide her into the training room, "I'm dreadfully sorry that I was late. Things are a bit hectic at the moment. I've been trying to get William settled in and"

"William huh?" Buffy asked as she stopped at the door to the back room. Her eyes were searching his for some sort of verification, "are you trying to tell me that your nephew is going to be my new watcher?"

Damn. After all this time without mentioning a name, he finally slipped. Well, best she knew now than before he arrived. Giles continued walking towards the back room. Eventually she fell into step with him. He wanted to prep her as best he could for the meeting. "Buffy, please sit down. We have much to discuss."

"Why am I getting this really bad vibe from you Giles?"

He laughed nervously and tried to make light of the situation. "I have no idea what you mean Buffy."

"Then tell me about this William cause I didn't know you had any family members to begin with let alone ones that wanted to become watchers."

"Fair enough. First, you have to understand why I've chosen him. I didn't do this to hurt you. You do understand that, don't you?"

"Uh. Sure. I understand you've got a life elsewhere. So spill."

"Right. I wanted to move back home and I couldn't do thatcouldn't leave you without a watcher. I know I made a mistake when I left you before but I felt that you were in capable hands. Well, maybe not completely but you had Spike. And I knew that he would watch out for you."

At the mention of Spike's name, Buffy's whole demeanor changed. "Yeah. He's really been watching me a lot lately, hasn't he?"

He could feel the bitterness come off of her in waves. "Buffy I'm sorry he tried to hurt you. I'm not condoning what he did. But you have to remember"

She glared at him. "What do you mean?" She demanded. "Who told you what happened?"

Before he could answer her, the bell to the shop rang.

* * *

William had agreed to meet Rupert at the Magic Box about half an hour after his planned arrival. By that point they had figured Rupert would have had enough time to talk to Buffy and to prepare her for William's appearance. And what an entrance that would be William thought. He wasn't sure how Buffy was going to react to his presence. He knew her track record with Wesley and Quentin and how she would be more than willing to quit the Council if she felt threatened in any way by them. He would have to tread carefully.

Knowing that he needed to make the right impression, he had chosen a gray, pinstriped, double-breasted suit. It was very flattering on him and helped bring out the color of his eyes. He didn't know why he was making such a fuss over what clothing he chose. Either way the girl was not going to be happy having him there. Taking one last look in the mirror to smooth out his unruly curls, he left his apartment. He decided to walk to the Magic Box instead of getting a cab. He would make arrangements to pick up his car later but for now he wanted to enjoy the warm afternoon sun.

As he approached the shop, he stopped as the feeling of being watched washed over him. Slowly he turned around to survey the area. His eyes scanned the street and the surrounding buildings. He didn't see anything but couldn't shake the sensation. He took a deep breath, "Right then. Time to face the music." He paused as he put his hand on the knob. With a sigh he turned the knob and swung the door open slowly. He jumped as the bell on the door rang above his head announcing his arrival.

* * *

Dawn sat at the counter trying to read through the watcher's guide. Next to her was an open dictionary. The guide contained a lot of big words that she didn't understand and when she came across a particularly difficult one, she looked it up. Understandably, her mind started to drift to thoughts of Steven. She smiled as she remembered the kiss. Then she remembered the confrontation with the vampire and a look of puzzlement crossed her face. His lightening quick speed and his uncanny sense of hearing had terrified her. Her first thought had been that he was a vampire himself since only vampires and slayers could move that fast. That's when he told her that he wasn't like the other guys his age.

She had laughed at him and said that all guys their age said that. But his tone had become serious as well as his face. He then hesitantly explained that he and his father had been trapped in a hell dimension for several years, since he had been a baby. They had only recently returned. Not too long after their return a vampire had killed his father. She remembered being stunned at how casually he had told her the story and then how the hatred in his voice had built up as he talked about the death of his father. She had sympathized with his loss, knowing what it was like to lose a parent.

She had questioned him about how he knew about her sister. He explained that after he had avenged his father's death, he wandered about Los Angeles aimlessly. It was there that he had learned that a vampire slayer lived in Sunnydale. Immediately he left the city and headed here to see if he could offer his assistance in the fight against evil. After their talk, they had walked back to her place in silence. When they got there he had given her a second kiss and brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face.

"Please," he had asked her, "please don't tell anyone about me. I don't want people to know I'mdifferent."

"Don't worry," she had said reassuringly, "I won't tell anyone and besides, you're not the only one who's different." She had kissed him again and then gone into the house, leaving him behind to contemplate that thought.

Her mind snapped back to the present when she heard the bell over the door ring.

* * *

Dawn looked up from her seat at the counter when she heard the bell. At first glance she thought that a customer had arrived. "Sorry sir," she sighed as she looked back down at the book she was reading, "but we're closed. We just didn't turn the sign over yet."

"I'm not here to buy anything," the man said hesitantly.

Dawn's head shot up. She knew that voice. Cautiously she put the book down and looked over at the man standing on the top step. Confusion clouded her face. It sounded like him, but it didn't look like him. She stood up and made her way over to the man. "Can I help you?" She asked questioningly stopping just short of the stairs.

"Uhm. Yes, I believe you can. I'm looking for Rupert Giles. I'm William. The new watcher."

Dawn continued to stare at him. It was obviously making him uncomfortable since he was tugging on the collar of his shirt. She glanced out the window to make sure that it was daylight. Yep. It was. So it couldn't be him. The voice sounded familiar but the accent wasn't the same. It was more refined.

"Is there a problem?" William asked trying to put the girl at ease. "Is my hair out of sorts again?" He reached up and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to make sure that it wasn't sticking out every which way. "Hasn't Rupert arrived yet?"

She nodded to him but continued to stare.

Absently, William pushed up his wire-rimmed glasses. It was as much out of habit as it was out of nervousness. He looked away from Dawn when he heard voices approaching the room. He saw Rupert come out of the back room with Buffy in tow. The older watcher made quick strides to reach him and pulled him off to the side at the top of the stairs so that William's back was to the girls.

"I told you half an hour," Giles whispered to him.

"It's been forty-five minutes Rupert. I gave you an extra fifteen," William shot back defensively.

As Buffy watched the two men, Dawn walked over to her sister. "Buffy, wait until you see what William looks like."

Buffy frowned at her sister's words. "What are you talking about Dawn?"

"You'll see. It's spooky."

Finally Buffy had had enough of the clandestine talk. She put her hands on her hips and cleared her throat. Both men whipped around to look at her. At the sight of William her jaw dropped open. She closed her eyes and then opened them again hoping that it had just been her imagination. It wasn't. "Spike?"  


  



	16. Unforgiven

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Both William and Giles face the wrath of one very ticked off slayer  
**Timeframe:** Immediately following "Changes" _

  
- 16 -  
Unforgiven

"Spike?" Buffy asked again squinting as if her eyes were deceiving her.

William blinked back and then looked at Giles who sighed heavily. "Why don't we all sit down?" Giles suggested gesturing towards the table.

"Uh. How about we don't and you just explain to me who this person is?" Buffy said harshly.

Giles took a deep breath. "Buffy, this is William Giles"

"Cut the crap Giles. I want an explanation. Now."

"Buffy," William said taking a step towards her. He bristled when she took a step back, fury lighting her eyes.

"Buffy, please do sit down," Giles said softly, "Dawn, you as well."

Dawn moved towards the table in a daze. She sat down in the nearest chair and waited for the explanation.

"Giles if you don't spell out to me what is going on right now, I'm throwing you both out."

Giles' face changed from fatherly understanding to anger. "Buffy I'm not here to negotiate with you. Now take a seat immediately so we can discuss this." His tone had been firm and demanding. He had taken her by surprise. She softened a little and pulled out a chair, sitting next to her sister.

* * *

Gavin sat at his desk making out his daily report to the Los Angeles office. He checked his watch to take note of the time. He was sure the senior partners would be interested in knowing that Mr. Giles was back in town and that he had brought a guest. Gavin had immediately recognized Rupert Giles from the photographs they had sent him. But the second man, the man in the suit, they didn't have any pictures for on file, at least not at this office. Very curious. He also noted in the report that the man had stopped in mid stride, as if he had known he was being watched. At that point, Gavin had stepped back away from the window. He knew that the man couldn't see into the building since they had tinted the windows but still, there was something about the way the man had scanned the area. It had made Gavin think of an animal listening for it's prey.

He finished typing up the report and sent the e-mail off to the senior partners. Perhaps with the digital picture of the man attached, the researchers in the main office would be able to track him down. Gavin was confident that this matter would be resolved and that the man wouldn't be any trouble for them. Afterall, he looked like another harmless watcher and those Gavin could take care of without breaking a sweat. After powering down his computer and turning off his light, he made his way out of the building and back to his apartment. Tonight was "Get acquainted with Sunnydale" night and he didn't want to miss the happy hour specials at the Bronze.

* * *

Buffy sat in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest. This man had to be Spike. Had to be. But the prickling sensation at the back of her neck that told her when a vampire was around wasn't going off. Plus, it was still daylight out and there was no sign of a smoking blanket anywhere. She looked angrily from one watcher to the other. Waiting. Waiting for the reason that this Spike look alike was sitting in front of her, about to become her new watcher.

"So, uhm, Giles," Dawn asked hesitantly, "is William Spike or what?"

Giles smiled at the girl and then looked over at Buffy, taking on a serious tone. "Buffy, prior to William arriving on my doorstep, I had decided to put in for a transfer back to England. The only thing that held me back was the thought of the Council replacing me with someone that would try to control you. You deserved better than that."

Buffy glared at Giles. "Oh so you went out and recruited Spike? Nice move Giles. And why do you keep calling him William?" She demanded.

"Because that's my name," William sighed looking over at her.

Buffy slowly shook her head and started to laugh. "This is some kind of joke, right?"

"I assure you this is no joke," Giles replied. "For all intents and purposes, William is my nephew and is going to be your new watcher."

"I can't listen to this anymore," Buffy said suddenly standing up, knocking her chair over in the process. "I trusted you Giles. I trusted you to tell me the truth and to be there for me when I needed you. This," she yelled gesturing wildly towards William, "is unforgivable."

"Buffy. Listen to me," Giles demanded as he stood up to block her from leaving. "Yes. You're correct. William is Spike. Or was"

"What do you mean was?" She seethed, "Just because he changed his name doesn't mean he isn't what he's always been."

"A monster?" William asked standing up and walking towards her.

* * *

Dawn had heard enough. She stood up and walked over to William. She wasn't sure why she hadn't noticed it before, but the telltale sign that this man was Spike was evident. There on his left eyebrow was the scar. "Oh my god. You are Spike," she gasped.

William looked down into her eyes. "Hello Niblet," he said with a smile, rumpling her hair. He reached into his pocket. "Hold out your hand," he requested. Dawn did as she was asked. Reaching out, he placed one hand under her's and the other hand on top.

"I believe this belongs to you," he said as he dropped something into her palm.

Dawn stared down at her hand in shock after William retracted his top hand. "Where did you get this? I lost it the other day after I "

"Went through the portal," he finished the sentence for her.

She nodded slowly as everything began to fall into place. "That was your room that I was in, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. It was. Not sure how you did it though. We'll have to work on that one."

"You're human now, aren't you?" She asked suddenly with a grin.

"What makes you think that?"

"Because," she stated, "your hands are warm. Plus, it's still daylight and you didn't burst into flames."

William grinned at her. She was quick this one was. "I guess you could say that."

Dawn squealed and threw her arms around him. It was so good to have him back home.

* * *

Buffy stared incredulously at the scene before her. This man was Spike. But he was human? How was that possible? At least she knew one thing; that he had been in England the last few months with Giles, and Giles had never told her. How could he have withheld this information from her? Didn't Giles know that she had been concerned about Spike? Wait. No. She didn't care. That's right. For all she cared, Spike could have been dead. That would have been just fine with her. Instead, he was standing here now, in Sunnydale, as her new watcher and a human to boot.

She continued to stare at Spike, William, whatever, hugging her sister. Now that Dawn knew this, thing, was Spike, there was no way Dawn would let Buffy throw him out of their lives again. Damn. Buffy looked over at Giles who was watching the interaction with great interest. When Giles's gaze returned to her, she glared at him. "So," she growled, "wanna tell us how this all happened?"

Giles nodded at her and motioned for them to all sit down once again. Reluctantly Dawn let go of William long enough to get a seat and move it next to him. Buffy started to feel like she was being ganged up on. Three against one. Great. She sat down in her chair after up righting it and waited to hear the tale.

"Perhaps it's best that William begin," Giles said looking over at Spike.

William/Spike nodded. "Right." He took a deep breath and looked over at Buffy. She looked so angry with him. He knew she would be at first, maybe even forever. But he took this job because he had agreed with Giles about Buffy needing someone who wouldn't try to control her. It was time she knew what had happened to him after he left that night. The night that he had almostHe couldn't even say it, let alone think it. He decided that it was best to start from the beginning.

"I left Sunnydale that same night that I came to see you and things gotout of control."

"Spike, it's okay," Dawn said reassuringly, "I know what happened."

He looked at the teen in shock. Tears began to form in his eyes. What else did his Lil' Bit know? "How? Who?"

"I told her," Buffy mumbled, lowering her eyes to look at the tabletop.

"Right," he said choking back the tears. He looked away from them both for a moment to compose himself. He took a deep breath to continue. "I left that night for Africa. I heard that there was a demon there that would grant whatever one wanted. If one survived the challenge. I was so disgusted with myself and I wanted so much for you to love me Buffy"

She looked away from him when his pleading eyes met with her's. His heart sank. "So," he continued trying to keep his tone even, "I went to get a soul. I managed to survive all of the challenges that the demon set forth so that he had no recourse but to give me what I had earned. Imagine my surprise when he said he couldn't give me a soul."

"Why not Spike?" Dawn demanded with a frown, "you beat the challenges" 

He smiled at her and continued, "Because Niblet, I already had a soul."

"How is that possible?" Buffy asked in a whisper.

"Not quite sure pet."

"As best we can tell," Giles explained, "Spike developed one over the last few years while helping us. It's not much of an explanation, but at the moment it's all we've been able to deduce."

"So what happened next Spike?" Dawn asked turning their attention back to the former master vampire.

"After he said he couldn't give me a soul, I asked him to make me what I was before."

"Before what?" Buffy interrupted.

"That's the thing pet. I didn't specify. I had meant before the chip. He took it as before I became a vampire. The next thing I know, I wake up human. I was dazed. Confused. I stumbled out of the cave and into the sunlight for the first time in 122 years. I wandered around the desert for days because I didn't know who I was or where I was. Finally, my memories returnedall of them, including William's. I needed help. That's when I decided to head to England and look for Giles."

* * *

Buffy sat back in her chair and tried to take this all in. She felt like she was on sensory overload. Spike had left her house and decided to go to Africa for a soul. Why? Because he wanted her to be able to love him? He already had a soul... 

"When Spike arrived on my doorstep," Giles said picking up the story, "I was skeptical at best. No one, especially at the Council, had ever heard of a demon in the African desert that could turn vampires back into their human selves. Of course, it didn't help his situation when he told me why he went looking for a soul." At that point, Giles stared angrily at Spike who sat studying the tabletop with great interest. "Needless to say, Ripper took control."

Spike continued to study the table. "Completely deserved it, I did," he said in a whisper.

"So does that mean you're going to punish Buffy too?" Dawn asked with anger in her voice.

Buffy's head snapped up as she glared at Dawn.

"Why on earth would I do that Dawn? I'm not quite sure I understand" Giles said confused.

Dawn folded her arms across her chest and glared back at Buffy. "Just for the record, I'm not condoning what Spike did that nightwhat he did was wrong; but Buffy's done things too." 

"What type of things Dawn?" Giles asked.

"Things she did to him for no reason" There was no way she was letting her sister come off as the victim here.

Spike looked sideways at Dawn and then over to Buffy. He didn't understand what Dawn was getting at and then suddenly it hit him. "No need to go there Niblet," he said in firm tone, "Buffy did nothing wrong. I was a monster"

"Don't even try to say you deserved it," Dawn shouted, "She beat you to a pulp because you wouldn't let her turn herself into the police for a murder she didn't commit."

Giles couldn't believe what he was hearing. Spike had never mentioned anything like that in his discussions with him. "Buffy, is this true?"

Buffy sat in her chair with downcast eyes. She didn't want to look Giles in the eye. How could she?

"Go ahead Buffy," Dawn said angrily, "tell him how you used Spike as your personal punching bag whenever you felt the need."

"It wasn't like you're making it sound, Niblet. Buffy had her reasons"

"Stop it Spike," Buffy sighed, "Yes, Giles. It's true."

* * *

Giles sat in shock. He had known that she'd had a difficult time of things after her resurrection. Spike had filled in most of the gaps after he had arrived in England. But he'd had no idea that Buffy was capable of being so cruel. Not that he was any saint himself, but still. Giles sat back in his chair and removed his glasses to clean them. "We have some things to talk about then Buffy. But not right now."

For a time the silence hung heavily in the air. Finally Dawn asked, "So how did Spike become a Watcher?"

"Right," Giles continued hesitantly, "After I decided to take pity on him, I realized that the ideal situation had presented itself to me. I wanted to stay in England. Spike wanted to come back here. Despite my misgivings about the situation, I spoke to the Council on Spike's behalf. Apparently William the Bloody turning human was of great interest to them. It also boded well for Spike that he could read the language on the scrolls that contained the prophecy. In return for certain information, he was enrolled in the Watcher training program. The Council gave him a new identity. That's when William Giles was born. I suppose Quentin found it quite amusing to give Spike my last name and to make him my nephew."

"Stupid git," William growled, "I'm not a huge fan of the man."

Giles chuckled at the remark.

"And now you're here to be my watcher. Lucky me." Buffy got up from her chair and glared at both men before she went into the back room.

Dawn started to go after her but Giles shook his head. "Let her go Dawn. You and I need to have our own discussion.

Dawn nodded slowly and sat back down at the table.  


  



	17. Truce

_**Author: **PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary: **Now that the truth is out about William, can Buffy forgive him and herself for their past  
**Timeframe:** Immediately following "Unforgiven" _

  
- 17 -  
Truce

Xander and Anya made their way into the Bronze to find a table. Buffy and Dawn were supposed to meet up with them later and fill them in on the new guy. A band was supposed to play tonight so the place was going to be packed; hence the need to get there early and stake their claim. Xander steered Anya towards a table at the back of the room. It was still early enough for Happy Hour so Xander decided to take full advantage of the "All you can eat" special. After piling his plate high with several items, he returned to the table to hang out until Buffy arrived.

"So do you think they're talking to the new watcher right now?" Xander asked Anya with a mouth full of food.

"Probably. Giles had been pretty insistent on not having anyone else there. I couldn't even total today's receipts!" She was beside herself not knowing how much cash was in the drawer. She knew she should have counted it as it came in. It wasn't fair. Silent partner. Right. Silent meant no talking. Instead, whenever he came to town he used the Magic Box as his gathering area; which usually meant she had to shut it down. Hopefully, this would be his last trip to the States.

Xander stopped in mid-chew and looked over at his girlfriend. At the moment he looked like a chipmunk storing it's food. "An, I'm sure you'll be able to count your money first thing in the morning." After a few more chews and a swallow he added, "Besides, I'm more concerned about this new guy. I don't want another Wesley hanging around."

Anya hadn't heard anything that Xander had just said. She was too busy studying the Asian man that had walked in and taken a seat in one of the chairs to their left. There was something about him

* * *

Buffy began punching the workout bag with quick, forceful jabs. Beating something up, even if it was just a bag, was therapeutic for her. The more she thought about what had just happened in the shop, the more forceful her punches became. She began adding a few kicks along with the jabs.

"So he left us and went to Africa." *Punch* "Wanted to get a soul so I would love him." *Kick* "Couldn't write or call could he?" *Jab left* *Jab right* "Just shows up and expects me to accept him being my watcher? *Punch* "Too damn bad." *Back kick* Her last kick resulted in the bag being hurled across the training room.

"Guess I'm gonna have to have Xander fix that again," she sighed.

She had been so engrossed in beating up the bag that she hadn't heard the door open or the approaching footsteps. "Buffy," William said quietly, "We need to talk."

She looked up at him, the tear stains on her cheek evident along with others threatening to spill over at any second. "Spike. William. Whatever. I don't have anything to say to you."

"No. And that's quite all right. I have some things that I want to say to you."

Her shoulders slumped and she lowered her head. "Fine." She wasn't sure she liked this new Spike. He seemed more refined.

"First. I want to apologize for what happened the night I left. I know that saying sorry isn't going to make up for what I did that night, to you. I'm ashamed that I hurt you."

She could hear his voice catch in his throat when he tried to apologize. One look in his beautiful blue eyes told her that he was sincere. But she still had a lot of anger in her. "You're right. It's going to take more than an apology to make things right, Spike." She put her hands on her hips and looked down at her feet. She'd better do this before she lost all nerve. She looked up at him determined to get through the next few moments. "What you did to me, what you tried to take from me, was wrong," she hesitated as her mind took her back to that night, "but, I had no right to do the things I did to you. I'm sorry too."

William's eyes grew large when he realized what she had just said. Had the Slayer actually apologized to him? He tilted his head and looked at her. He took in every contour of her face. She was still just as beautiful as when he left, even more so if that were possible. She wouldn't make eye contact with him. "Buffy," he said at a loss for words, "thank you."

She looked up into his amazing blue eyes. She wanted to tell him how she felt. That she had missed him, but before she could say anything, he continued.

"I know that we can never go back to the relationship that we once had. I have no desire to actually. It was too painful, Buffy. I want you to know, that from my end, our relationship will be strictly a working relationship. I hope that at some point, we will be able to friends." He hesitantly extended his hand and waited for her to shake it.

Buffy was stunned. Had he just admitted that he didn't want a romantic relationship with her any longer? She looked at his hand and then looked into his eyes. She couldn't read him. She used to be able to look into his eyes and see how much he loved her. Now there was nothing. She sighed and met his hand with her's. Dawn had been right. His hand was warm. Suddenly she was overwhelmed with her feelings for him. She was so lost in them that she hadn't even noticed that he was trying to remove his hand from her grip.

"Buffy," William asked placing his left hand on her shoulder, "are you alright?"

"Huh? Yeah. Sorry," she said releasing him and nodding her head, "Truce."

William smiled warmly at her. Perhaps they could be friends afterall.

* * *

Giles watched with interest as Buffy and William wandered into the shop together and sat back down at the table. They had both been in the back room for quite a while. Things seemed to be at least cordial between them. He sighed. He still had his reservations about William being Buffy's watcher, but he really didn't have much say in the matter since the decision had been made and the man was now here. He was confident that Buffy would accept this change eventually, but for now he would help to smooth things over. He cleared his throat and stood up while taking his glasses off. "Buffy, Dawn and I have talked at great length about the portal. I believe that I may have an answer for how they appear. However, I'm not quite certain as to the why. William, I'm going to need your help with some research."

William nodded his head, took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. He was getting used to being a researcher. It wasn't all that different from what he did as a human the first go around.

Buffy was amazed at how eager Spike looked to get to the books. William, she corrected herself. He goes by William now. "Well Dawnie, what say we head over to the Bronze and meet up with Xander and Anya?"

Dawn looked at Giles who nodded to her silently. "Can I invite Steven?" She asked Buffy.

Buffy sighed. "I suppose. But no sucking face, understand?"

Dawn smiled and ran over to the phone to call the teen.

"Uh," William asked, "Who's this bloke then that my Niblet is calling?"

"Her boyfriend," Buffy said rolling her eyes.

"What," he asked incredulously, "Are you daft? She's too young to be dating. I know what boys that age want. And it's not just a walk in the park. I"

Buffy started laughing.

"What? What's so bleeding funny Slayer?"

"You! Here you are; the scourge of Europe, all refined and Giles-y like, all worried about a 17 year old boy." She couldn't stop laughing.

He was about to say something back to her when Dawn returned to the table. "So Niblet," he said, eyeing her curiously, "what's this I hear you have a boyfriend." Dawn blushed and nodded. She was grinning from ear to ear. William didn't like that look. Not on his young Niblet.

"Wanna come with us?" Dawn asked with a grin.

"Will this Steven be there?" William asked with a frown.

"Uh huh. And it would probably be a good way for us to introduce you to Xander and Anya. Cause the Bronze is a public place. I don't think Xander would do anything to you there."

"Dawn. I think Giles needs William to help him with research right now," Buffy cautioned.

"Why don't we all go?" Giles suggested figuring that nothing would get done this evening anyway. Not with William's worry about Dawn's dating habits.

They all looked at Buffy and waited for her response. It probably was best for them to have Xander meet William in public since Xander would less likely make a scene that way. "Fine," she said finally. "Let's go."

"Right then," William said with a grin, "That's all settled. Off we go."

The foursome gathered their things and headed out the door into the night.

* * *

Gavin sat back in the comfortable chair to take in his surroundings. So, this was the infamous Bronze that he had been briefed on. It didn't look like much from the outside but it was a different story on the inside. He let his eyes peruse the room. It wasn't full yet, but it was getting there. It seemed that everyone from town showed up here sooner or later. He noticed a young couple sitting to his right. They seemed to be engrossed in some sort of conversation that he wasn't privy to. It looked pretty serious and he thought they looked familiar to him.

He took his palm pilot out of his shirt pocket and scanned through the photos that he had downloaded before leaving his office. After the second photo, the right face appeared along with the following information:

Name: Anyanka. AKA Anya Jenkins  
Age: Unknown  
Occupation: Part owner of the Magic Box and a Vengeance demon  
General Information: Part of the 'Scooby Gang'. Became human in 1998 after a wish gone wrong. Once engaged to Alexander LaVelle Harris (AKA Xander). Left at altar by said fiancé in 2002 and returned to her demon roots. Loves money.

Gavin smiled as he stole another glance at the animated couple. "Hello Anya," he said to himself with a grin. And the guy with her must be Xander. Quite an unusual moniker for Alexander. He also thought it unusual that the two had remained friends despite the halted nupts. He then turned his attention to Xander's information:

Name: Alexander LaVelle Harris. AKA Xander.  
Age: 21  
Occupation: Construction site foreman.  
General Information: Part of the core group of the 'Scoobies'. Once romantically involved with Cordelia Chase. Former fiancé of Anya Jenkins (AKA Anyanka). Unhappy childhood due to alcoholic parents. Probably the weakest link.

Gavin studied the information closely, looking for something that he could use against the couple at a later date. He slid the handheld back into his pocket and picked up his drink. This was going to be so much fun. Too bad Lilah couldn't join him. Such a shame.

* * *

"Xander," Anya said in hushed voice trying to get his attention, "Xander!"

"What?" He was still eating.

"The guy behind us, to our left; there's something strange about him. Do you recognize him?" 

Xander slowly turned his head to check out the man that Anya was referring to... "The Asian dude?" 

"Yes. Him."

He watched while the man slipped something into his breast pocket. He turned back to Anya and shook his head. "Nope. Never saw him before. Maybe he's new in town."

"Oh," she said enthusiastically, "I should go give him a business card and welcome him to Sunnydale."

"Sure An. Why don't you do that?" He picked up another hot wing and was about to devour it when he caught site of Buffy coming into the Bronze. And she wasn't alone.

* * *

They had decided that William would walk behind Giles as much as possible until they got to the table. Once there, Giles and Buffy would flank Xander as Dawn introduced the new Watcher. Buffy hoped that things wouldn't get out of hand. She hated the thought of maybe having to hit Xander. She found Xander and Anya as soon as the small group entered the Bronze. Xander was waving to her and straining to see who she had brought along. She took a deep breath as they made their final approach to the table.

"Hey Buff," Xander said with a smile. "Bring some party guests with you?"

"Hi Xander," she said making her way over to his side and putting her arm around him. "Hey Anya."

"Hi Buffy," Anya replied, "Giles. Dawn." From her angle she could see the new Watcher. He looked very familiar. She tilted her head and her eyes grew large as she started to process the information. She looked at Buffy who silenced her by putting her finger to her lips. Anya nodded.

Giles stepped out of the way and quickly made his way over to Xander's side. "Good evening Xander," he said with a slight smile. The distraction had been enough.

Dawn cleared her throat. "Xander and Anya, I'd like you to meet Buffy's new watcher"

"Spike," Xander demanded, "is that you?" His body tensed. He tried to get out of his seat but Buffy and Giles held him firm. "You son of a "

"Spike is dead Xander," Dawn stated cutting him off, "This is William. William Giles."  


  



	18. Bound By Dreams

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Buffy's dream takes her to the next level; William begins to settle into his new life as another familiar face comes to town  
**Timeframe:** The morning after "Truce" _

  
- 18 -  
Bound By Dreams

Buffy tossed and turned uneasily in her bed. The dream was consuming her. She wanted to wake up but couldn't find her way out. It was the same dream she'd had when she fell asleep on the couch. She found herself walking through the desert again, still dressed in white and still barefoot. Spike appeared before her. He looked like he did in the last dream, pair of faded jeans, no shoes and no shirt. "Spike," she whispered, "why are you here?"

"Haven't you figured that out yet pet?" He asked with sparkling eyes and a smile.

"Figured what out?"

"Why I'm here." He walked over to her and placed his hand on her cheek.

The warmth of his hand on her skin made her weak. "Spike"

"Hush luv," he said brushing his lips over her lips. "I'll never leave you again. Ever."

"Promise?"

"I promise. I love you Buffy."

She closed her eyes as he touched his forehead to her's. She longed for him to put his arms around her. She needed to say it, to finally get it out in the open. "I love you too Spike." 

Spike sighed and pulled her close to him. She could tell that he had been waiting for her to say these words. To accept him for who he was. She began showering his face with kisses and when their mouths met she swooned. She needed him. Every part of him. Souled or not. Human or not. She was his and he was her's. Finally, she realized that they were meant to be. Every fiber of her being knew this to be true.

She pulled back from the embrace and looked him in the eyes. "I know why you're here now Spike. I understand." She was startled when he suddenly vanished from in front of her. She looked around wildly and found herself back in the cave from her pervious dream.

"It's almost time for us to meet again my dear," the voice said from the shadows.

"You're dead," she responded harshly.

"You were once too."

"So was I you stupid git," Spike said appearing from out of nowhere, ready to do battle. "Things change." He charged at the voice and the sounds of fighting reached Buffy's ears.

"Spike no," Buffy shouted and reached out for him but the cave went deadly silent.

* * *

The sound of her own voice was still ringing in her ears as she sat bolt up right in her bed. She was breathing heavily and crying. One look at the clock told her that she needed to get up soon anyway but this wasn't the way she wanted to wake up. This was the second time she'd had this dream. It was time to take it seriously. She ran her hands through her hair and wiped her face. She then picked up the phone and called Giles at his hotel.

"Buffy what is it?" Giles asked with concern. He had detected a touch of anxiety in her voice.

"I need to talk to you. Right away. I had one of those dreams."

"Buffy if this is a slayer dream then you must call William, he is, afterall, your watcher."

"No Giles. Can't do that." She sighed heavily and then continued, "He was in the dream only he was Spike or maybe he's William. I don't know. But I know it's a slayer dream. I really need to talk to you."

"Very well. Do you want to meet at the Magic Box?"

"No. I think it's better if you come here. I need to talk to you about this first."

"Right. I'll be there as soon as I can."

* * *

It was another typical sunny day in Sunnydale. A sleek, black limousine pulled up in front of the new Wolfram and Hart offices. Once it had come to a complete stop in front of the building, Linwood, Lilah and a second man emerged. The second man took a few moments to get reacquainted with his surroundings before he was ushered into the building. It felt strange to be back in Sunnydale after all this time. The thought of returning here had never crossed his mind until Lilah had recruited him. It looked as though nothing had changed. And he had noticed as they passed the high school, that it was being rebuilt. He was sure that the city would have just leveled what was left of the burnt out shell and thrown a concrete slab over it. Amazing. 

Once inside the building they rode the elevator up to the second floor. He followed the two attorneys into the conference room where he was asked to take a seat. The room smelled of new woodworking and fresh paint. He glanced out the window and noticed that there was a magic shop across the street. He'd have to check the place out as soon as the leash he was on was loosened.

Ms. Blackwell entered the room and introduced herself as Gavin's assistant. She instructed them to help themselves to the coffee and the continental breakfast at the back of the room. "Mr. Park will be in momentarily," she said as she closed the door behind her.

Lilah folded her arms and expressed her disapproval at Gavin making them wait. Just who did he think he was? Only senior partners were permitted such a luxury. She looked over to see if Linwood was as perturbed as she was. Unfortunately, he looked unfazed. He was too busy putting jam on a toasted bagel. She rolled her eyes. This was going to be a lot tougher than she had anticipated.

After a few minutes, Gavin entered the room. Lilah was sure that the delay was calculated on his part, but the look on his face upon seeing the second man was well worth her wait.

* * *

Buffy paced the living room as she waited for Giles to arrive. She had already sent Dawn off to the Magic Box telling her that she would be along shortly. The longer she waited, the more she paced. And the more she paced, the more agitated she became. She wasn't sure which to be more upset about, the possibility of the Master rising again or the fact that she might be in love with Spike. They were both frightening thoughts to her for different reasons. The Master had killed her but she had defeated him once, she could do it again, but Spike, that was totally different.

Finally, Giles arrived and they sat down in the living room. He could tell that there was definitely something upsetting her and decided to get straight to the point. "Buffy, why don't you tell me about your dream?"

Buffy nodded and took a deep breath. "I think the Master is about to party down in Sunnydale again."

"What," Giles asked incredulously, "Are you quite certain?"

"I've had two dreams now. Both dealing with him. And he's saying stuff like 'I knew you'd come' and 'Soon we're gonna meet' blah, blah, blah."

"I realize this is hard on youbut I need more information than that. Can you be more specific?"

"Both times it was the same. In a cave. He's in the shadows. Waiting. Why do they always have to be in caves," she mussed.

Giles took his glasses off and sat forward on the couch. "And you're certain that it's the Master?"

"Oh yeah. Wouldn't forget a face like that. Besides, killed me, remember? I think I'd recognize him."

"Right. Now you say that Spike was in your dreams as well?"

At that question she shrank into the chair as if trying to hide from all that needed to be said. She looked at her former watcher. How was she going to tell him about Spike? He wouldn't understand. How much did he know about what happened between her and Spike this past year? Only one way to find out. "Giles, how much has Spike told you about what went on between us?"

* * *

Gavin's face flushed as he recognized the man sitting in the chair next to Linwood. "What are you doing here? " He demanded again his anger growing more intense.

"Oh," Linwood stated with a mouth full of food, "didn't you get my memo?"

Gavin stared at his boss in shock. "What memo?"

Linwood waved to Lilah to do the explaining as he finished enjoying his breakfast. Lilah grinned smugly. "That would be the one announcing the addition of one Wesley Wyndham-Pryce to our group." She waited for the information to sink into Gavin's brain. Once she felt that sufficient enough time had passed, she went in for the second blow. "Oh and Gavin? He'll be working out of this office."

Gavin growled as he glared at Lilah, "Do you really think this is such a great idea Mr. Linwood? The man can't be trusted. He's one of Angel's closest associates."

"Was," Wesley interrupted. "I was. As in past tense."

"Gavin sit down," Linwood ordered. "The senior partners have made their decision. Besides, who better to be your right hand than one that knows the ins and outs of this place?"

"I assure you Mr. Park," Wesley said in an even tone, "I am completely trustworthy. Ms. Morgan finally convinced me that this is where I belong. Afterall, where else did I have to go after throwing Connor to the wolves? I've betrayed Angel in the worst possible way. You and I both know how Angel is, there's no coming back from something like that."

"Ah yes Mr. Wyndham-Pryce," Gavin replied in an angry tone, "Angel's hatred for you is well known. But you do realize that with Angel in a watery grave, there's nothing holding you back from reuniting with the others."

"I am well aware of Angels' present whereabouts. However, there is nothing left for me in L.A."

"Not even Winifred Burkle," Gavin asked trying to bait Wesley into admitting he was still one of them.

Linwood and Lilah turned their attentions to Wesley, waiting for his response. "Especially not her," Wesley seethed, tired of playing this game with Gavin. "She is quite happy with Gunn. I am moving on. I suggest you do the same Mr. Park."

Linwood grinned and Lilah smirked while Gavin turned red. "Shall we get started then Gavin," Lilah asked and she flashed a smile at Wesley, showing her approval of how he handled the situation.

The four of them then turned their attention to the matter at hand, tonight's ceremony.

* * *

Across the street at the Magic Box, Dawn was dusting while William sat at the table surrounded by several large volumes. "So Willow and Tara knew about you, huh Spike? I mean William. Can I just call you Will or something? Cause this William thing is kinda stuffy. Oh. I guess Will is what we call Willow. Can I just call you Spike?"

William looked up from taking notes to see Dawn staring happily at him. "Niblet I'm sorry if William is too stuffy for you, but it's my name. It'll just take time to get used to is all."

She nodded and sat down next to him at the table. "So what's it like; to be human again? Do you feel all angsty and remorseful like Angel cause of what you did in the past? Or are you all redeemed and stuff?"

He smiled at her and sighed audibly. She had been asking him questions ever since she had arrived. He needed to let her know, in a nice way, that she was bothering him and that there would be plenty of time to catch up later. Right now, he needed to find out why she could open portals. "Lil' Bit, I'm not going anywhere for a long time. No need for the twenty questions. Tell you what. Why don't we have lunch together and then we can catch up? And I want to know all about this git Steven who stood you up last night."

"I told you he called and left a message on the machine," she huffed at him defensively, "He couldn't make it. His mom was making him go shopping for school stuff. It starts soon you know."

He held his hand up and chuckled. "Okay, okay. I believe you. Don't get your knickers in a twist. So lunch then?"

"Sounds good. Just you and me?"

"Just the two of us," he said with a yawn.

"Yeah right. If you don't fall asleep by then. Still jet lagged?"

"No. I'm all caught up on the time difference. I just didn't sleep well. Had a couple bad dreams. Nothing big."

"Talk about bad dreams. You should talk to Buffy about her's. I could hear her shouting in her sleep this morning. Something about somebody being dead," she said with a shrug. She didn't notice William's reaction as she walked away to dust the front of the shop.

  



	19. Fatherly Advice

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating:** PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary:** Giles gives Buffy some surprising advice  
**Timeframe:** Immediately following "Bound By Dreams" _

  
- 19 -  
Fatherly Advice

Buffy looked down at her hands. They were folded tightly in her lap. She didn't want to tell Giles anything about her and Spike. She was afraid that he would think less of her. The tears started to slide down her cheeks. Great. More tears. That's all she'd been doing lately. This had to stop. She was Buffy the Vampire Slayer not Buffy the Constant Crier. She wiped her tears away and looked at Giles. He was sitting patiently on the couch waiting for her to begin. Apparently, Spike hadn't told Giles much of anything except that he had tried to rape her. The fact of the matter was, she needed to come clean to Giles about everything.

"Buffy, I'm sure it's not that serious," he said reassuringly, "You can tell me anything, you know."

She shook her head. "That's the thing Giles. It is serious. I made a lot of bad decisions while you were gone. A lot of things happened that I'm ashamed of."

He set his teacup down and took off his glasses again. "Bad decisions are part of growing up. Buffy please, perhaps you'll feel better if you just get it all out in the open."

She stood up and walked behind the chair she was sitting in. Without looking at him, she began, "Giles, I know you're going to be disappointed with me"

"I'm very proud of you Buffy. No matter what."

She nodded her head slightly and lowered her eyes. "When I came back from wherever I was, I-I felt alone. No one understood what I had gone through. Spike was the only one who didn't want anything from me. He wasn't pushing for me to be myself again. While everyone else expected happy Buffy, he just let me be me, ya know?"

Giles nodded.

"I started hanging out with him more. I knew how he felt about meand I used that to feel again. We became involved."

"Involved?" Giles asked with a frown, "Exactly how 'involved'?"

"I was sleeping with him." She looked over to see his reaction.

He smiled somewhat and then looked back at her. "I had assumed that was the case, but I'm glad that you finally told me."

"You're not mad? Or disappointed," she asked quickly.

"No. Actually, I'm a bit amused. Please continue."

"Are you sure? No, 'Buffy you need to get your priorities straight' or 'Are you out of your bleeding mind'?"

Giles laughed and shook his head. "Buffy, you're a grown woman now. We all make mistakes. It's called being human. Don't be so harsh on yourself."

Buffy sat back down in her chair amazed at his answer. She had been sure that he was going to be upset and disappointed with her. "There's more."

* * *

"Dawn, come help me with the inventory," Anya requested of her teenage helper.

"That's Halfrek's job," Dawn replied making a sour face. She hated helping Anya with the inventory simply because the ex-demon was so demanding. She'd rather dust and help the customers.

"I gave her the day off and besides, you know better than to call her that. It's not who she is anymore."

Dawn rolled her eyes and plunked down into the chair next to William who was now busily writing in his journal.

"Dawn, mind Anya," William said without looking up from what he was doing.

"But"

"Dawn," he said locking her gaze with his, "I understand you have a debt to pay off. Now go."

"Fine," she said in a huff.

Anya walked over to William. She couldn't get over how much he had changed. He was quite attractive. "William," she said getting his attention, "Thank you for your help with Dawn. Sometimes she can bedifficult."

He smiled warmly at her. "You're welcome. You just have to be firm with her is all. She'll listen."

"It was good sex," Anya blurted out.

"Pardon," he asked startled and shocked.

"The sex. Between us. It was good. I just wanted to let you know that."

"Uh," he sputtered, "Thanks." He could feel his cheeks flush.

"But if I had known that the person who had hurt you was Buffy, I would have never done it. I didn't know. But it was still good sex." She smiled at him and patted his arm, then went back to the inventory with Dawn.

William sat in stunned silence as he watched her walk away.

* * *

"I assumed there would be more," Giles said matter of factly. He had known that Spike had not been telling him everything, but now, he knew that the former vampire was just trying to protect Buffy's personal life.

"Giles," she started hesitantly, "It wasn't a good relationship that Spike and I had. It wasunhealthy." She hung her head again in shame. "I used to beat him up whenever I felt like it. That's how it all started. The sex."

"I see." This might be more information than he wanted to know, but he would allow her to continue, for her own piece of mind.

"I guess I took everything out on him. So when hewhen things got out of hand in the bathroom, I'm partly to blame. I changed the rules and didn't tell him."

"Buffy, no one deserves something like that. It's the worst thing that a man can do. You do realize that, don't you?"

"But Giles. I didn't stop him. Not until it started to go too far. I could have stopped him right away if I had wanted to. And now I think I know why."

"I'm not quite sure I understand where this is going."

"I'm in love with him." Had she really said that out loud? And to Giles? She sat back and waited for his reaction.

* * *

Giles took his glasses off the table to clean them. He had known this was coming. However, it was still difficult to hear. Dawn had talked to him about Buffy's feelings while they had chatted about the portal. The teen was concerned that if Buffy didn't come to terms with her true feelings, that she would be too distracted to do her job. He had agreed.

When Giles didn't respond immediately to her confession she assumed that he was about to lecture her. She braced herself and waited for the worst.

"Buffy, I know that you're expecting me to tell you that you're out of your mind and that you need counseling, but I'm not going to say anything of the sort. As I said previously, you're a grown woman now. I cannot make these decisions for you. Only you know how you feel about Spike. About William actually."

"But Giles," she sighed, "That's just it. I loved him before he became William. I just didn't want to admit it to myself. It's too weird."

Giles chuckled. "Believe me I'm the first to agree with you on that one." The smile faded from his face and his tone became serious. "Can I offer you some advice? Not as your watcher, but rather as a father figure."

"Please."

"I don't necessarily approve of Spike or what he did in his past. However, I have gotten to know William the human over the last few months and I have to say, in all honesty, he's a good man; and he loves you very much. God help me for saying this but, if you love him as well, you need to tell him."

"But the others," she said hesitantly.

"To hell with what anyone else thinks Buffy. You, of all people, deserve to be happy. You've been through enough pain and suffering. Don't punish yourself with this as well. Embrace it. I for one am not going to stand in your way."

Buffy stood up and rushed to give Giles a hug. She felt liberated at last. "But how will I tell him? I don't think he wants a relationship with me again. Not that I can say I blame him. I was a total whack job to him."

"Just tell him. Because if you don't, if you keep harboring this feeling, you're going to be miserable for a very long time, and it will affect your slaying abilities. You can't afford to have an off night because your mind is elsewhere. I don't think I need to remind you of that."

Buffy smiled her first genuine smile in a while. "Nope. No need to go there."

"Now that we've had our chat," Giles said getting up and heading towards the door, "why don't we head to the shop to talk to William about the Master. I think he would be quite interested in what you have to say. He's been having dreams himself."

"What?" Buffy exclaimed in surprise.

Giles was already out the door. She quickly grabbed her keys and went to catch up with him.

* * *

"Okay Bit. Ready for lunch," William called down to the teen. She was down in the basement going through inventory. He could almost hear her silent cheers as she bounded up the steps.

"Anya do you want us to bring back anything for you?" Dawn asked as she grabbed her wallet.

"No thank you. Xander is supposed to stop by. He's going to spend money on me," the ex-demon said cheerily.

"Probably best that I'm not here then," William said with a grin.

Dawn snickered as she followed him out the door into the bright sunlight. Spike walking in the daylight, it was all so surreal. "Think we should have waited for Buffy and Giles?" She asked.

"No. That's alright. I'm sure they can fend for themselves. It's William and Dawn day," he added with a smile.

They walked along in silence for several moments. "She's in love with you, you know," Dawn said suddenly.

William's head snapped around to look at Dawn. "I'm sorry. But I don't think I heard right."

"You heard me just fine," Dawn said with a grin.

"Dawn. I would rather we not discuss Buffy if that's alright by you."

"Suit yourself but I think we should. You guys can't go on hiding it forever."

"Hiding what," he demanded.

"Your feelings."

"I am not discussing this with you, Bit."

"That's just what she said," Dawn stated as she came to a complete stop. "Why are you two being so difficult?" She was so frustrated. What was their problem? Why couldn't they just be up front about how they felt? She thought it would be cool if her sister and Spike would get together.

William stopped and turned to face the teenager. "Dawn, there are just certain things in this world that aren't meant to be"

"Stop it," she said as she grabbed his arm, "I'm not a little kid. I know about these things. I'm older than you and Buffy combined."

Suddenly the area around them darkened and the air began to hum and ripple.

"What is going on Dawn?" William asked in awe.

Dawn looked over at him and shrugged. "Portal."

They both peered through the portal once it had stabilized. There on the other side looking shocked and confused was Buffy and Giles.

* * *

The meeting at Wolfram & Hart adjourned. They were to meet back at the offices later that evening and then leave for the ceremony together. "Wesley?" Lilah asked once they had reached the front entrance. "We're going back to the hotel for a while, are you coming?"

He shook his head. "No. I think I'm going to wander around for a bit. Try to get reacquainted and all."

Lilah smiled. "Just remember, you work for us now. And don't be late tonight."

He nodded and closed the limo door for her. He stepped back from the curb and watched the limo pull away. He'd already decided that his first stop would be the Magic Box. Better to get it out in the open that he was back in town, rather than run into one of them out on the street. There would be fewer questions this way and less suspicion. He patiently waited for the traffic to pass by before he crossed the street to the shop.  


  



	20. Unleashed

_**Author:** PSUbrat  
**Rating: **PG-13 Some language and violence  
**Disclaimer and spoiler warning:** These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them toI'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.  
**Update List:** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic  
**Summary: **Dawn's portal powers are explained; William gets a shocking surprise and the Big Bad rises  
**Timeframe:** Immediately following "Fatherly Advice"_

  
- 20 -  
Unleashed

Buffy and Giles stood on the other side of the portal in complete shock. It was good that they had looked up from their conversation when they did, otherwise they would have walked right through the opening. Giles picked up a loose pebble and threw it through the breach. It struck Dawn on the other side. "Hey watch it Giles," she said in mock pain, "You trying to put someone's eye out?"

Giles looked chagrined. "Now is not the time to be making jokes Dawn. We must get this portal closed before someone notices!"

William scanned the area where the portal opened, hoping that no one other than them had noticed the change. They were downtown near quite a few shops and it was lunchtime, which meant that there were many people around. This wasn't good. "Giles, there's too many people here for you two to come through on this side. I think it will draw too much attention. Bit and I are going to have to come to you."

Giles nodded. He had been thinking the same thing. He believed that the only way for the portal to close was for Dawn to move through it, one way or the other.

William grabbed Dawn's hand and with one last glance around the area, and pulled her through with him. It had been just like walking through a doorway. That simple. Unfortunately, when they had reached the other side, the portal didn't close. Instead, it seemed to become more electrified.

"Dawn," Giles shouted above the humming, "you have to close it!"

"I don't know how," the teen shouted back at him.

William looked at Giles and then back at Dawn. Something in the back of his mind told him they knew the answer to this. Suddenly he smiled at Dawn and said, "Tell me more about this Steven bloke."

Dawn looked at him strangely. Why did he want to know about Steven all of a sudden? They had already talked about him this morning. As she was about to ask him what he wanted to know, the portal snapped shut.

* * *

Wesley walked into the magic shop and looked around. There were a couple of customers off to the side admiring a candle display but he didn't see anyone he recognized. As he moved further into the shop, he noticed a young, blonde woman behind the cash register. She looked familiar to him but he couldn't place where he had seen her. He knew she was part of the briefing notes but he thought he knew her from somewhere else as well.

He was browsing the books when Anya walked over to him. "Is there something I can help you with?" She asked with a smile.

"Actually, no. I was hoping to catch up with an old friend. Is Rupert around by chance?"

"Oh. You're looking for Giles," she said with a frown, "Sure you don't want to buy something?"

He was a bit confused by the young woman. "Is he here,[?]" he asked with some irritation.

"Who?"

"Giles."

"No. He's not here right now. Although he should be here soon." She knew immediately she didn't like this man. His eyes were cold and she didn't like the scar on his neck. He just gave her the creeps.

"May I wait for him?"

"Suit yourself," she stated as she ran back to the cash register to ring up a customer. Then she added, "Just don't touch anything," 

He sat down at the table to wait for Giles. The magic shop, he thought, was a very good front for a watcher. No one would ever suspect what really transpired behind these walls. He busied himself reading the titles of the books on the table. They looked like watcher books. He was about to pick up one that looked like a journal when he heard his name.

* * *

"How did you know to do that?" Buffy asked in amazement.

William shrugged. "It just seemed like the most sensible thing to do. Get her to think about something else. Can't concentrate on two things at once. Kind of like not being able to walk and chew gum at the same time." 

"Yes! Of course," Giles declared, "Break her concentration and the portal will close. It's quite simple really."

"Glad you seem to think so Giles," Buffy cracked.

William chuckled.

"Now we know how to close them," Dawn said with a grin, "But we still don't know how I open them."

"I think I do Bit," William stated.

"How?"

Giles had discussed his suspicions with William the other night. Neither of them had complete proof as to the how, but William was certain after witnessing the event himself, that he did. "You were agitated and we were talking about Buffy. The next thing that happens is a portal appears in front of Buffy. I'd wager that it happened the same way when you opened a portal to my room."

Dawn thought for moment. She couldn't remember exactly what her and Buffy had been talking about. The excitement of the portal had overshadowed everything else that had happened that day.

"You're right," Buffy said hesitantly, "We were arguing. About you."

William and Giles both nodded. "Good work William," Giles said patting the new watcher on his back, "Mystery solved for now. Shall we continue back to the Magic Box?"

"Wait," Dawn demanded, "You're saying that all I have to do is think about something or someone and a portal will just open up there?"

"We're not quite sure on the specifics yet Dawn" Giles had started.

"So cool! I'll just think about the Magic Box and open a portal," she said in a giddy tone, "That's so much easier than walking there."

"No," Giles shouted at her. "You cannot just go off opening portals whenever you feel the need. Firstly, we aren't certain how stable they are, and secondly, you cannot attract attention to yourself. Do you understand?" 

"Yeah, I get it," Dawn said defensively.

"Come on Bit," William said putting his arm around her, "let's go get lunch now." He led her back to town as Buffy and Giles looked on.

"We must watch her Buffy," Giles said with a concerned tone, "until we fully understand the ramifications."

Buffy nodded silently as she watched William and her sister walk away.

* * *

"Wesley?" Xander asked from the other side of the table.

"Xander! So good to see you again," Wesley stated as he stood up and extended his hand to Xander.

"So what brings you back to Sunnydale?" Xander asked not bothering with the handshake.

Wesley dropped his arm down to his side. He thought maybe the young man had gotten over the past, apparently, he was wrong. "Actually, I work here now. Across the street at the new law firm." He noticed Xander's confused expression and added, "They deal with international trade agreements and such. I translate documents for them." He thought the cover sounded thin but it's what Wolfram and Hart had decided upon.

"How lucky for us," Xander said dryly.

"Yes. Quite," Wesley said looking down at the table. "I'm waiting for Rupert. Did you by chance see him on your way in?"

"Uh that would be a no. And I'm not sure how happy he's going to be to see you."

Wesley tried to smile. Had Harris always been this obstinate? As a teenager, the boy had gotten on his nerves, but he didn't remember him being this annoying.

At that moment, Buffy and Giles entered the shop. Wesley was relieved. He didn't want to be in Xander's presence any longer. He was afraid he might hurt the young man.

* * *

Giles was stunned to see Wesley standing on the other side of the shop. The last that he had heard, Wesley was working with Angel in Los Angeles. He met Wesley's gaze and smiled. He noticed immediately that something was different about the former watcher. Wesley seemed cold and hard, as if he had seen too many horrendous things in one life for his mind to handle; but there was something else there as well.

"Wesley," Buffy asked incredulously, "what are you doing here?"

"I asked him the same thing Buff," Xander said in a disgusted tone. "Mr. Stuffy Watcher here works across the street at the new law firm. Guess we're stuck with him now."

"Good afternoon Buffy, Rupert," Wesley stated still holding Giles' gaze. "I wanted to stop by and talk to you for a bit. Let you know that I was back in town. Perhaps we could catch up?"

"Why don't you catch up with the next bus out of town," Xander sneered.

"Xander that's enough," Giles stated flatly. "Anya would you get Wesley a cup of tea and bring it into the office, please?" He motioned for Wesley to follow him. Once Anya brought in the tea, the door closed. Buffy and Xander stood out in the shop with eyebrows raised.

* * *

Wesley had left the shop by the time Dawn and William had come back from lunch. William was relieved that he didn't have to deal with Xander for the time being but he knew that eventually the two would have to at least be civil. He didn't blame the whelp for wanting to beat the living life out of him. He deserved it for what he had done to Buffy before he had left. However, Buffy had threatened Xander with death if he touched one hair on the watcher's head, ever. William had been grateful to Buffy for her support. It was a little unexpected but nonetheless appreciated. The thought brought a smile to his lips.

"Hey smiley boy," Buffy said with a puckered brow, "wanna share the happy?" She sat down in the seat next to him.

She had startled him out of his reverie. His mind was quickly racing to cover his true thoughts. "I was just thinking," he lied, "of the look on Xander's face when he saw me standing in front of him at the Bronze."

Buffy chuckled. "Good thing Giles and I were holding him back. If you were still a vampire I think he would have dusted you on the spot."

"I think you're right," he said with a smile. "What can I do for you Ms. Summers?" He asked trying to change the subject.

"Huh? Oh. Why I'm sitting here. Right."

He thought she seemed a little jumpy, even jittery. He wondered if she had been drinking too much coffee again. He raised his eyebrows, silently asking her to continue.

"Well Giles said that we needed to talk. Something about our dreams of the Master."

"You've been having them too?" He asked incredulously.

"Yeah," she said, unsure if she wanted to let on that he had been in her dreams as well. "He's in a cave. The first time I had the dream, he started to feed on me. The second time"

"The second time what?"

She took a deep breath, "The second time, you started fighting him."

William sat back in his chair to let it all sink in. "You were wearing a white tunic."

Buffy's eyes widened. She nodded. "And you were wearing nothing but faded jeans." 

They stared at one another for what seemed minutes. Finally, William broke the silence, "I think we need to research this." He handed her one of the books he had been going through earlier and then tackled a thicker book. "First we need to know if there is a prophecy that deals with the Master's return."

"And secondly," Buffy asked.

"Secondly," he said hesitantly, "we need to find out why we're experiencing the same dreams."

* * *

"Are you ready Heinrich?" Gavin asked with a smile. Everything was going as planned. Gavin's men had captured a fledgling vampire the previous night and had brought it to the apartment for Heinrich's approval.

"I'm ready," the man stated coldly, "Let's begin."

"Very well," Gavin stated as he had the fledgling brought into the darkened room. They had starved the young vampire on purpose so that it still had that same craving and blood lust as when it had awakened in its grave the night before.

Heinrich motioned for them to let it go. Gavin nodded his approval and the vampire was released. Heinrich glided over to it and stroked its face. "How would you like to become the most famous vampire in history?" He asked soothingly.

The vampire didn't move. It only nodded slightly. It seemed entranced by Heinrich's eyes.

"I will remember you fondly for what you're about to do," Heinrich said baring his neck to the fledgling. "Now feed." The fledgling did as commanded and stopped when Heinrich ordered him to.

Gavin stepped in and cut the vampire's wrist so that Heinrich could suckle the fledgling's blood.

Once the former master vampire had signaled he'd had enough, the fledgling continued to feed on him. Eventually Heinrich dropped to the floor dead.

Immediately, one of Gavin's men staked the fledgling from behind. They then picked up Heinrich's body to move it to the car. The body was to be transported quickly to a cave in the woods and buried. Then the ceremony would begin.

* * *

"William," Buffy said closing her book and gently closing his as well, "Before we start the research stuff, I-I need to talk to you."

William noticed that her tone had become serious as well as the expression on her face. "Is there something wrong? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It's just thatRemember what you told me and Angel once?"

"Which time," he laughed.

"When you came back to Sunnydale; after Dru had left you the first time..." 

William tried to think. He remembered he had returned to town and had tried to make the witch cast a love spell so that he could get Drusilla back. "I vaguely remember, pet. It was a long time ago," he said shaking his head.

She looked at him trying to see if he was playing dumb or really didn't remember. She decided that he didn't remember and continued. "Well, you once said that Angel and I could never be friends."

He remembered the rest, "Right. And that you two would fight and shag and hate each other till it made you quiver. But you could never be friends because love wasn't brains."

Buffy nodded her head slowly. "What I'm trying to say is William, I don't think we can ever be friends because I'm in"

She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence because they were interrupted by a voice from behind them.

"Buffy have you seen Anya? I need to talk to"

Both Buffy and William had turned their heads to see who had interrupted their chat. William's eyes widened. Could it be? "Cecily?" William asked incredulously, believing his eyes were deceiving him.

"William, is that you?" Cecily cried.

"It's me luv," he exclaimed as he quickly stood up.

"Oh William," she whispered as she ran to him and threw her arms around him.

Buffy watched in horror as the one thing that she hadn't prepared herself for, happened.

  
**THE END**  


  



End file.
